2011 Fond du Lac Success by Gannett Wisconsin Media

Success a measure of

A salute to people who make a difference in the Fond du Lac and Dodge areaâ&#x20AC;Ś and beyond!

Sunday | October 30, 2011

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Michael Mentzer

Managing Editor | The Reporter

Richard Roesgen

The Reporter’s annual autumn Success section has become a tradition.

Managing Editor

This marks the seventh annual Success venture featuring stories from Fond du Lac, Dodge and Calumet counties, and beyond. Stories also include former local residents who have achieved success in a variety of ways across the country.

Michael Mentzer Copy Editor

Gary Clausius Contributing Writers

Dorothy Bliskey, Karla Kremer Breister, Harley Buchholz, Gloria Hafemeister, Colleen Kottke, Russell Plummer, Lee Marie Reinsch, Laurie Ritger, Michael Rogers, Sharon Roznik, Joann Schrauth, Heather Stanek, Monica Walk, Doug Whiteley Photographers

Aileen Andrews, Harley Buchholz, Patrick Flood, Gloria Hafemeister, Anna Kirkland, Joann Schrauth Advertising Director

Lisa O’Halloran Advertising Manager

Jen Memmel Circulation Director

Greg Fyvie

P.O. Box 630 Fond du Lac, WI 54936-0630 Phone: 920.922-4600 | 1.800.261.7323 FAX: 920.922.5388 www.fdlreporter.com

In this section, there is a story about the Ketterhagen “kids,” a brother and a sister from Fond du Lac who are experiencing their measure of success — one on the East Coast, the other on the West Coast. But Luke and Anna Ketterhagen have a special regard for the heartland because Fond du Lac remains their “home” and this is where their parents chose to raise a family. The section has been popular since it made its debut as a somewhat hastily designed “experiment” in 2005. Success has received several newspaper and advertising awards over the years from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association in its annual Better Newspaper Contest.

Striking a Chord The special section has struck a chord with online and print readers and has sparked numerous comments and suggestions for future Success sections. There is no shortage of good people, organizations and businesses to be featured. In its first years, someone on staff voiced concern that we faced the prospect of running out of good ideas for stories. That has never been an issue. In fact, each Success section has been greeted with suggestions for other stories for the next year. The list has multiplied with ideas over time. Ideas trickle in throughout the year from readers; and staff writers, correspondents and editors squirrel away ideas and thoughts for future Success reference.

on the cover. . .

It’s been apparent since Day 1 that people enjoy reading upbeat, uplifting stories about their friends, neighbors, fellow citizens, civic groups and businesses. Success provides a balance to other news items — the shocking, deflating, sometimes depressing stories that are always a part of the news.

Reflection of Community But a true reflection of a community can never be all “bad” or all “good” news. The reality of yearlong coverage can be found in the balance of events, good or bad, that occur in a community. As noted in a Success section from a previous year, there is no shortage of positive, upbeat, “successful” people in our little corner of the world. The most difficult part at times is convincing people that they do indeed have interesting and inspirational stories to tell. It’s important that they share their stories for the overall common good. This collection of stories isn’t about materialistic gain or awards. It’s much more about community service, volunteerism, overcoming challenges, building a community, appreciating family, providing a service, sharing a legacy. Two stories struck a particularly responsive chord with me this time around. Both stories focus on military veterans — one from the ongoing war in Afghanistan; the other from the war in Vietnam more than 40 years ago. Josh Wege, formerly of Waucousta, is featured on the cover and as the first story in this section. He lost both legs below his knees in a roadside explosion in Afghanistan. Richard Vander Velde of the Mount Calvary area anchors the center spread of the section. He carries injuries and scars of another kind from his stint in Vietnam. Both have battled back. Their stories are inspiring. They embody a measure of success that provides the theme of this annual undertaking.

The main photo on the cover highlights Josh Wege of Waucousta as he sits on a bench outside of the gym of his old high school, Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac. Wege has excelled in the two years since losing his legs in a blast in Afghanistan. He was selected for the elite Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. The team travels the country, playing games against able-bodied teams of police, firefighters, military members and celebrities. Others shown on the cover are, top row, from left, Connie Ramthun, owner of Kettle Moraine Natural Landscaping near Dundee; Dave Rose of Eden, an expert in bovine genetics; and Jan White, owner of Jan’s Optical in Waupun; second row, Dean Wild of Brownsville, writer of horror stories; and Karen Kalsbeek of Fond du Lac, organizer of the Books Between Bites program; third row, opera singer and medical student Elizabeth Hillebrand, formerly of Fond du Lac and now of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Chuck and Kathy Wilke of the Campbellsport area, carver and watercolor artist respectively; and bottom row, Sister Stella Storch of Fond du Lac, advocate for justice, peace and ecology; and Richard Vander Velde of the Mount Calvary area, a Vietnam veteran who strives to help modern-day veterans as they return home.

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General Manager/ Executive Editor

2011

staff

Success

Success makes its presence known in how we feel

2011

Success

index Josh Wege

Sister Stella pages 15-17

Advocates for peace, justice, ecology… and more

5-7

Conquers his injuries and inspires those around him

Jan White Strives to make a difference in business and community life

12-13

Sexual assault victims have a true friend in ASTOP director

20-21 22-23

Books Between Bites founder nourishes both mind and body

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43-45

Luke Ketterhagen & Anna (Ketterhagen) Petrie 46-50 Laura Ketelhut

52-53

Sister Germaine Werth

54-55

Creates special prayer beads and bracelets from flowers

26-27

Takes the reins as bowling coach at UW-Whitewater

Dave Rose

Firefighter is a woman of many talents

24-25

Leann Eimermann

40-42

Ketterhagen ‘kids’ return to roots to help keep father’s dream alive

Their studio shines light on beauty and artisans

Karen Kalsbeek

Chuck and Kathy Wilke Eden dairy genetics expert is known as a master of maxims

Area residents set the standard with blood drive participation

Howie Zanto and Liz Woodworth-Zanto

34-35

Couple’s creations are an extension of their inner passions

18-19

Lifeblood of the Holyland

Dean H. Wild Local writer polishes craft as author of scary fiction

Her talent takes her to New York and around the globe

Linda Selk-Yerges

32-33

He turns his athletic pursuits into a multifaceted career

8-10

Elizabeth Hillebrand

Jason Witczak

Boyke Family

56-57

Vir-Clar Farm has prospered tremendously under decades-long care

Connie Ramthun

Richard Vander Velde

Leads the charge in battle to halt spread of invasive species

Experience in Vietnam spurs area man to guide younger vets

pages 37-39

pages 28-30

Success is published by The Reporter, Fond du Lac. Contents of this section are published for The Reporter. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of The Reporter. For more information, contact Michael Mentzer, managing editor, at 920-907-7910 or e-mail mmentzer@fdlreporter.com

He’s taken some big steps — albeit with the use of artificial limbs — in a comeback to his former athletic self. Waucousta native Josh Wege, 21, endured near-fatal injuries when an explosive device hit the Humvee in which he was riding and took his legs in a blast on Oct. 4, 2009.

2011

Wege retired in summer from the U.S. Marine Corps. He’s been making a name for himself by overcoming the injury and excelling with the use of prosthetics. “I expect a lot of myself,” said Wege as he reflected on the past two years. “I knew I could do it, but it seemed farfetched at the time. It was so long ago, I feel completely normal (now).” Wege, a Winnebago Lutheran Academy graduate, has delayed his college plans as he travels around the country playing with the elite Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. He and 19 other amputees were selected for the squad that plays against teams of able-bodied firefighters, police officers, service members and celebrities. Wege is the only bilateral (double leg) amputee on the team and the only one, his coach says, to compete at an incredibly high level. There are three members who have learned to play despite the amputation of an arm. Others have amputations that occurred below or above their knee. The team’s third baseman played Division 1 baseball before losing a limb overseas.

Fiercely Competitive “He’s got the natural ability and agility and he’s fiercely competitive,” said Coach David Van Sleet, who explained that Wege has the ability to pitch, play first base and left field. “There’s not too many people that can do three positions, even if they’re able-bodied.” Van Sleet, who is based in New Mexico, said the team he founded has won about two-thirds of the games it has played. Wege has played in every game as part of the 11-member traveling team at sites around the country. The team recently played the weekend of Oct. 15-16 in Las Vegas, Nev. Working as a Veterans Administration prosthetics manager, Van Sleet came up with the idea for the team after running a wheelchair basketball camp in Tucson, Ariz., last year. “They (soldier-amputees) have been missing high-level activity team sports,” he said. “A lot of them didn’t think they’d ever be on a team again.” Congressional grant funding has helped with expenses; but donations pay the bulk of it. Louisville Slugger and Mizuno have provided equipment and uniforms. Hotels have provided complimentary lodging, and even legendary Josh Wege bats at a training camp in Tuscon, Ariz., for the Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Softball Team that he is part of. The team of amputee players has found success as it travels around the country playing able-bodied teams of police, firefighters, military members and celebrities. submitted photo Continued on Page 6

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From battlefield to ball field, Josh Wege conquers his injuries, inspires those around him

The Reporter | lritger@fdlreporter.com

Success

wounded warrior

By Laurie Ritger

2011

Success

Continued from Page 5

singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett provided 20 tickets for the team to attend his concert in Vegas. On the ball field, the players thrive on putting on a good show for fans and on winning games. Van Sleet wanted to bring attention to the sacrifice and resilience of the country’s military service members. “It’s really a chance for us to kind of let everyone know that life’s not over — especially for people with disabilities,” Wege said. “(This team) is just a blessing to be part of.”

Excellence

being treated, helped his sibling’s rehabilitation success. “Joe was the behind-the-scenes-guy to get Josh out of bed, to get those feet on, to get to appointments or therapy on time,” Kay said. “Joe got Josh to fight through the pain and the strain …” Josh said he had a couple of important goals to motivate his recovery: driving his car and returning to the ball field.

Faith Kay said she and husband, Dave, were in a Bible class when a long distance call came telling them about their son’s injuries.

Van Sleet said service members who sustain severe injuries like the loss of a limb first think about survival and then about the loss of ability to do the things they did before — like walk, run or play sports.

“I was very anxious,” she said. “The butterflies were determined to crawl out of my throat but I called on every ounce of calm I could muster, saying a prayer to God to help me deal with what lay ahead. He certainly did.”

“These guys have rehabilitated to high levels,” he said. “Josh has put in hours and hours. Some people can excel and some can be average.”

Josh’s father remembers his son telling him not to worry. That was a day after Josh was hit with the Improvised Explosive Device.

Wege’s mother, Kay Wege, a teacher at Winnebago Lutheran Academy, said Josh understands and appreciates that he is an inspiration for others.

Dave remembers Josh telling him he was glad it was him who was hit, because he was somebody who could handle it. Josh said he knew God would give him no more than he could deal with and would be with him every step of the way.

“He has always wanted to help people,” she said. “I definitely am proud of his accomplishments, his never-give-up attitude (which I hope he learned a little from his parents). He knew where the strength would come.” The dedication of Josh’s twin brother, Joe, who halted his own plans and moved out East near the Walter Reed medical facility where Josh was

Name: Josh Wege Age: 21

“In the two years since Josh was hurt, we have enjoyed his tremendous and often unbelievable success,” said Dave. “From his first steps again, to his throwing away his crutches when told he would have to relearn to walk after yet another surgery, to his winning gold and silver in the Warrior Games, we too, have healed.” In May, Josh participated in track and field (in which he earned four gold medals), volleyball and wheelchair basketball at the Games held in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Home Life Kay said the family is as “normal” as can be, except for a wheelchair that her son keeps at the house. “Josh rarely uses it,” she said. “He gets up and puts on his feet instead of his shoes now.” When he’s not playing competitive softball, Josh spends time playing video games and socializing with friends and family. According to his mom, he even needs to be reminded occasionally to clean up his room. “Last night he played volleyball with his sisters and their friends at WLA after school,” she said. “He just jumped right into the game and no one thought any different. They moved when he went to spike it though!” Josh (with his prosthetic legs) drives a stick shift Mazda that he bought days before being deployed in 2009. During the summer, he played on softball leagues virtually every night of the week. After his stint with the Wounded Warriors softball team ends, he intends to pursue a college degree in psychology and then learn more about the prosthetic field. Josh believes he can be a motivating force for others facing life without a limb.

Occupation: Retired from the U.S. Marine Corps; member of the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team Home community: Waucousta Number of years in the community: 21

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Your reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I’m grateful and honored, but I’m just a guy.”

To what do you owe your measure of success? “God has given me the ability to recover, live life and move on. It’s about perseverance, a positive attitude and trust in the Lord.”

His mother thinks he started maturing during Marine training sessions that took place in his senior year of high school. “That is why he handled it so well,” she said. Dave said the family has its lives back. “Life is in many ways better than before because we have met so many incredible people,” he said. “Never have we felt like we traveled this journey alone.”

Josh Wege has overcome his significant injuries with the help of his family. Shown outside Winnebago Lutheran Academy are his twin brother, Joe; sister Jordyn; father Dave; Josh; mother Kay; sister Jamie (back); nephew Parker Grede being held by sister Jessica Grede; and her husband Jeff Grede. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Success 2011

Wounded Warriors Coming to Fond du Lac Josh Wege is a member of the Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team.

Right: Josh Wege of Waucousta pitches with the Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. submitted photo

The “team of American heroes” is coming to Fond du Lac on July 7, 2012 to play three games against teams from Fond du Lac’s Police and Fire departments and Wege’s own Friday co-ed softball team.

Wege Explains His ‘Legs’ Moving with artificial limbs does not feel like “you’re walking on the end of a leg,” according to Josh Wege, who has two prosthetic feet. He said the prosthetic suspends weight around the leg “When you have it on right, with the right fit, it feels very natural — more than I thought,” he said. “I’m very used to wearing these.” Wege said when the rest of world puts on shoes he puts on his “legs.” He has at least six different sets. When people look at him, he understands that not many people are accustomed to seeing a young double amputee. He once heard a young child ask his parent what kind of shoes Wege had on. “I’m fine — I don’t have a problem with (the curiosity),” he said. “My personality has blessed me with the ability to shake things off.” Josh Wege wears a pair of mechanical lower limbs. Wege, 21, became a double amputee in 2009 when he was serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marine Corps. An improvised explosive device hit the Humvee in which he was riding, causing severe injuries, including the loss of his lower legs. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

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Left: Josh Wege puts on his “legs” before a game with his team, the Washington Nationals Wounded Warrior Softball Team. submitted photo

He travels the country as part of a team that challenges able-bodied teams to a hard-fought game of softball. The players belt out hits, dive for the ball on defense and into a base to avoid an out.

Success

2011

valued volunteer Jan White strives to make a difference in Waupun business and community life

Name: Jan White Age: 56 Occupation: Optometric assistant and owner of Jan’s Optical, 223 E. Main St., Waupun. Home Community: Waupun

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Number of years in the community: 47

How do you define success? “It means having a positive impact on those around you and realizing how blessed you are. You can be successful, but if you’re not thankful for it, how much can that success really mean to you?” Your reaction to being selected? “There certainly are more people that are more successful and deserving than myself, but I am honored. I’m just a regular person doing what I can. I just know that I was taught to do things for other people and to be involved.”

By Colleen Kottke

The Reporter | ckottke@fdlreporter.com WAUPUN—Jan White follows a basic creed: Be of service to others. Following the example set by her parents, the Waupun businesswoman over the years has embodied the spirit of a true volunteer, whether organizing a community meal at her church, opening her home for a fundraising tour or helping poverty-stricken people living in Third World countries to see clearly for the first time.

The Foundation For Her Dedication Is Really Simple. “I was just taught to do things for others and be involved,” White modestly replied. Her résumé as a local volunteer is quite lengthy, serving as an officer or board member of several civic groups including the local chapters of the Lions

The focus of Jan White’s life is service to others as a businesswoman and volunteer. She opened her own business, Jan’s Optical, 18 years ago in downtown Waupun. The Reporter photo by Aileen Andrews

and the Rotary, the Christmas Club and Chamber of Commerce along with the Board of Governance for Waupun Memorial Hospital and the city’s Business Improvement District committee. White’s involvement was also groundbreaking in that she served as the first female member on the now defunct Waupun Industrial Development Corporation and the first female president of the Waupun Lions Club. “Eighteen years ago there was still the ‘good old boys club’ in a lot of places,” White said. “I hope I made a difference by making it easier for other women to be involved in their communities.”

Getting Started After a brief stint as a food supervisor at the local

Success

Conﬁdence In Your Bank.

2011

Jan White visits with a young patient who received her first pair of glasses at a vision care clinic in the Dominican Republic. White has participated in 25 mission trips overseas as part of the Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity mission group. She is joined by optometrists, opticians, opthalmologists and lay volunteers who provide vision care where it is not affordable or obtainable. submitted photo

hospital right out of high school, White, then 19, answered a blind ad in the newspaper for a job opening as an optometric assistant at a local eye clinic owned by Dr. Paul Wheeler. “I told him I was looking for something that was a bit of a challenge and that’s what caught his eye,” White said. “While I was training, he told me that I wouldn’t be worth my salary until I had a year’s worth of experience under my belt. And he was right. There was so much to learn.” After Wheeler left to start the optometric technician program in Madison, White also moved on, working for various optometrists in the Beaver Dam and Fond du Lac area. While attending a conference of the American Optometric Association in San Diego 18 years ago, White found herself at a professional crossroads.

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“The speaker was talking to us about having passion for what we do. That if we weren’t happy we needed to move on or somehow find peace in what we’re doing,” White said. “It was like she was talking to me — that I needed to make some changes, so I did.” After a bit of soul-searching, White decided that she could run an eye care business on her own and began to seek out her financial options.

Slow But Steady Fortunately for White, she found a doctor that was leaving his practice and bought all of his equipment. Next she contracted the part-time services of an optometrist just starting a practice in Columbus who was looking to supplement her income. Not everyone, however, was pleased when White hung out her shingle for Jan’s Optical on Main Street in the stately old National Bank of Waupun building. “There were two full-time optometrists working in Waupun at the time and neither of them were very happy with me,” White said. “Nevertheless, I still felt there was a need because no matter where I had worked, people who I had served followed me to whatever practice I moved to. It took awhile to build up my clientele but it was slow and steady. People have been so loyal and good to me over the years.” Continued on Page 10

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“After talking with someone at a local bank, I was so encouraged by the faith they had in me,” White said. “When I picked up my check, someone at the bank joked that I could finally get some sleep at night. I never laid awake at night because once I made my decision that I could do this, I knew it was what I was meant to do. I never doubted it. It was God’s plan for me.”

2011

Success Continued from Page 9

Extending the Mission

White credits fellow Waupun businessman Steve Guth for offering sage advice about the dedication needed to succeed during the first critical years after launching her business.

White’s spirit of giving extends beyond the city of Waupun. For the last 21 years, White has served on 25 volunteer missions to Mexico and the Dominican Republic under the banner of Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity. The group of eye care professionals and lay people travel to impoverished areas to help improve the vision of residents of all ages.

“He said not to plan on taking any money out of your business for the first five years, but continue to reinvest in building that business. Many people who first start out envision being their own boss, working when they want to and taking money to the bank in wheelbarrows, but that’s not reality,” White said. “You have to pay your dues. It was a very wise piece of advice.” Guth said his faith in Jan’s business acumen was right on the mark. “She has such a great personality that I knew she would do well,” Guth said. “A lot of people go there because they get such great service, and she’s always friendly.”

Heart for the Community A member of the community since she was 9, White has embraced the city of Waupun and has worn many hats in championing the needs of its citizens.

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For the last 22 years, White has spent her Thanksgivings with her family members preparing turkey, dressing and the fixings for her church’s community Thanksgiving meal. The yearly event has grown in the last two decades from serving just 30 residents to more than 200.

“We have a number of people at Pella Lutheran Church that plan their own Thanksgivings around being able to work at church,” White said. “It’s a lot of work but it’s just an awesome day.” Guth who has worked side by side with White in many civic endeavors — the most recent, the Waupun Area Recreation Project — says volunteers like White are “irreplaceable.” “They’re the ones who give of their time — thanklessly sometimes. But I can’t say enough about her; she’s always giving and ready to go. We’re trying to make things happen in Waupun and the only way to do that is with people like Jan,” Guth said.

“I saw people in their 80s who had never had their eyes examined and children that were placed in special education classes because they were having trouble learning. There was nothing wrong with the intellect or development of these children, it was because they couldn’t see and just needed glasses,” White said. “You’ve never seen such big smiles or so many tears of joy. After my first trip I just knew I wanted to continue.” While at the weeklong missions, volunteers work long hours in sometimes primitive conditions trying to meet the needs of the countless poor who have lined up long before the arrival of clinic volunteers – some prospective patients traveling for days by donkey. White says she struggled at first with the reality of not being able to help everyone.

Do What’s Possible “I realized you can’t save the entire world, but you do what you can do for those you can,” White said. “Through this experience I’m certainly more thankful for what I have and also more willing to share what I have.” Jan is also following in her parents’ footsteps by magnifying the importance of volunteer work to her own two sons, Jeremy and Derek, who as young boys toiled alongside White in the church kitchen and on mission trips overseas. “It’s made more of an impact on them as they have gotten older. In fact, Derek was so touched by the plight of the children that he often took his own meal and those leftovers from others in our group out to the streets to share with them,” White said. “They both have good hearts and I’m hoping that spirit continues in them as they get older.”

left: Following the example of her parents, Jan White’s sons, Derek Harmsen, far left, and Jeremy Harmsen, far right, have accompanied their mother, second from left, on mission trips overseas to help provide vision care to those in need. Joining them are White’s friends and contacts in the Dominican Republic, Tulio Montes de Oca L, center, and Doris Montes de Oca L. submitted photo top right: Rotary past president Ryan Mulder passes the leadership torch back to Jan White, who will lead the Waupun chapter again this year as president, a role she has held three times. submitted photo bottom right: Jan White was awarded 2010 Paraoptometric Service Award in Orlando, Fla., at the American Optometric Association Paraoptometric awards luncheon for her volunteer efforts at home and abroad. submitted photo

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2011

Success

from Fondy to Big Apple Voice, talent take Elizabeth Hillebrand to NewYork, around the globe

Name: Elizabeth Hillebrand Age: 38 Hometown: Fond du Lac Current community: Brooklyn, N.Y. Reaction to being nominated for Success: “Absolutely honored!” To what do you owe your measure of success: “I owe my success to the unwavering support of my entire family; the many amazing examples set forth by of my Mom; a belief that I can become anything to which I dedicate my whole heart and spirit; and all the pretty fantastic teachers along the way.”

By Heather Stanek

The Reporter | hstanek@fdlreporter.com As a child and teenager, Elizabeth Hillebrand took music classes and performed with school bands and choirs. Today, music takes her around the world, from the stages of Carnegie Hall to the bedsides of the sick.

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Hillebrand, a Fond du Lac and Eden native, now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She said she sings mostly opera and some classical. She has sung in Italian, French, German and Spanish.

Since moving to New York in 1996, she has appeared in numerous productions, playing roles in such shows as “HMS Pinafore,” “Mikado” and “The Red Mill,” to name a few. She has also returned to Fond du Lac to sing for local shows, including South Shore Chorale’s Christmas concert last winter. She said she plays a lot of male roles, but they’re masculine roles that were meant to be played by women. “An Incomplete Education,” in which she played a man on his wedding night, was a memorable part.

Major Undertakings She most recently played a lead, Kathie, in “The

Student Prince.” It’s a part she has portrayed before in Lake Geneva, Wis. “It was great to bring that show to New York. That role was so much fun,” she said. Hillebrand also coordinated a solo recital in New York this year in honor of opera great Beverly Sills, who wowed audiences from the 1950s to 1980s. Her next major project involves traveling to China to sing with the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, a full touring orchestra. She will be one of two singers in the group. She said 10 concerts will be held in December. Hillebrand said she has sung in Italy, Switzerland, Israel, England and throughout the United States, but never before has she seen China. She received the job after being recommended by a conductor she worked with on a previous show. She is also active with Sing for Hope, a nonprofit in which professional singers donate their time and talent to perform for hospital patients. It’s rewarding, heartwarming work. “We actually had one patient say how lucky she was that she was in the hospital. She said, ‘I could

Elizabeth Hillebrand plays Gretchen and Matthew Hughes plays Capt. van Damm in “The Red Mill.” submitted photo

never afford a ticket at Carnegie Hall, and here you are in my hospital room. I am so lucky.’”

Good Education Although she’s always loved music, Hillebrand knew, even as a child, that she wanted a wellrounded education. She attended Sacred Heart grade school, and graduated from St. Mary’s Springs High School in 1991. Hillebrand said she took band and choir in school. Her voice teacher was Romaine Paveglio, who still teaches as a substitute at Sacred Heart and St. Mary’s Springs. Paveglio told The Reporter she and Hillebrand keep in touch, and she’s proud of her former student. She said Hillebrand showed a strong work ethic when she was a teenager, and she took all the proper extracurricular activities to prepare herself for the future.

Success 2011 Elizabeth Hillebrand soaks up the sun on the streets of Brooklyn in this photo that graces the back cover of her album, “Be Kind and Courteous.” submitted photo

After high school, Hillebrand went on to study at Lawrence University in Appleton, where she double-majored in voice performance and biology. She went on to achieve her master’s in marine biology. “I just always liked both,” she said. “I figured I’d do what I was better at.”

Music and Medicine At the moment, it’s a bit of both. Besides singing, she’s studying to attend medical school. If she does practice medicine, she’d like to work in rural communities in Wisconsin or Minnesota, where it’s difficult to find doctors. She said she would love to participate in the Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian program wherein medical practitioners travel across the globe to serve those suffering from disasters, neglect or violence. Paveglio said Hillebrand made wise choices choosing to major in music and science. “It’s difficult to make it in life as a vocalist, as any musician,” she said. “She has both her bases covered, and she does them both very well.” Elizabeth Hillebrand, top, plays the role of a saucy temptress in the Pineda Lyric Opera’s production of “The Merry Widow.” Elizabeth Hillebrand, center, plays Gretchen in “The Red Mill.” Elizabeth joins Ed Prostak and Stephen Quint for Gilbert and Sullivan’s Bell Trio from “HMS Pinafore” at the NYGASP New Year’s Eve Gala. submitted photos

What’s Next? Hillebrand said she’s still focused on music. She’d love to play all three heroines in Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffman” at the Skylight Opera in Milwaukee. She loves city life in New York, from singing in the prestigious Carnegie Hall to riding the subways, but said she’s contemplating returning to Wisconsin. Madison is tempting, since it’s so close to theatrical venues. She would be willing to travel across the country and globe to continue performing. She looks forward to being closer to family again, she said. Her mother, Vicki Mitchell, and a brother and sister live in the La Crosse area, while her father, Thomas Hillebrand, godmother and cousins are in Fond du Lac. She also has a brother in Prescott, Wis. Family and friends have supported her through the years, she added. Wisconsin would also be a nice place to start a family, said Hillebrand. She married Tom Schotland last year. “I miss Wisconsin. I miss the green. I miss the trees,” she said.

Hillebrand said rejection doesn’t faze her. It’s not uncommon to audition for 30 companies and maybe snag two jobs, if you’re lucky, she said.

In hindsight, she has no regrets about leaving small-town Wisconsin for the Big Apple. It can be a bit unnerving, jumping into a field where employment isn’t always certain. Support from those around you, good mentors and “doing some homework” are the keys to success, she said.

“You just have to go to the place that ‘They just didn’t want me right now,’” she said. “It gives you more impetus to think, ‘What can I do better?’”

“Sometimes you just have to hear, ‘Yeah, you made the right choice. You’re good at this. You touch people,’” she said. “That’s so inspiring to me.”

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“She went about it the right way,” Paveglio said. “She is very vocally and musically talented.”

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Success 2011

speaking up for those in need Sister Stella advocates for peace, justice, ecology… and more

By Karla Kremer Breister

Sister Stella Storch displays a shoulder bag made by girls and young women in the AIDS Orphan Sewing Project, which she started in Tanzania. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Special to The Reporter

“The advocacy I try to do is living out the Gospel,” said Sister Stella, a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa. “I don’t advocate for the heck of it.” The advocacy role is one she has had all of her adult life. “When I was a principal, I was an advocate for children,” she said. “At my congregation, I worked with the elderly sisters and realized how underappreciated they were, and I wanted to be an advocate for them. Now I have the opportunity to be an advocate for the voiceless, who are mainly the poor, and I can advocate against the death penalty or for peace.” Stella was born in Germany, and her family emigrated to the United States in 1952. She grew

up in southern Wisconsin and “felt a call” to enter a religious order her senior year of high school. “I got to know the School Sisters of Notre Dame and the Dominican Sisters in high school, and they inspired me, so that was my choice,” she said.

Cooperative Venture She accepted a position with the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) 10 years ago, and said that it is now very common for women of different orders to work together. “Basically I was a teacher and principal for 27 years, and then in leadership for my congregation,” she said. “I saw an opening for CSA, and I’ve felt at home with them from day one.” She is especially passionate about opposition to human trafficking, and about support of issues favorable to women and children and the environment.

“When I think of child abuse or trafficking, and pornography that degrades women and children – all that stuff drives me nuts,” she said. And, these issues are closer to home than many realize. “It goes on everywhere,” she said. “Mail order brides and ‘massage’ parlors like up in Appleton or Ashwaubenon — they are links to pornography, prostitution and trafficking.”

Networking for Peace As the coordinator of Justice, Peace and Ecology for CSA, Sister Stella processes and shares a great deal of information. “I network with a lot of other groups because you can’t do much alone,” she said. “With likeminded people, you get a lot more done.” Continued on Page 16

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Sister Stella Storch wears many hats, but perhaps none so proudly as being an advocate for those in need – in the Fond du Lac community and around the world.

2011

Success

Continued from Page 15

Many of Her Tasks Are Administrative “There are no typical days, but I get a lot of information from a lot of groups via email,” she said. “I spend a good part of the day looking over emails receiving input and deciding what to delete and what to share with others.” She shares information via Facebook, listservs, and as website updates. “I also do a lot of work in legislation — trying to get representatives and senators to do the right thing at the state and federal level,” she said. “Right now there is a trafficking bill that needs reauthorization, so I contact them and urge others to do so.” She recently returned from a meeting of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility in New York. CSA is involved with this group of investors that helps to shape corporate policy with regards to environmental, social and economic justice concerns. “There are 300 different groups of investors and we take shareholder action to get companies to do the right thing,” she said. “We are very much into anti trafficking.”

Abroad and Home She is also involved with UNANIMA International, a nongovernmental organization at the United Nations in New York. CSA was one of the founding members of this organization, which advocates on behalf of women and children, immigrants and refugees, and the environment. “We work in 72 countries around the world to stop demand work and to stop the trafficking,” she said. “We just had our tenth anniversary celebration and that was a pretty big deal. I got in right as this was starting.” She fights for equality at home as well, participating in Holy Family Parish’s peace and justice programs and volunteering for United for Diversity.

Name: Sister Stella Storch Age: 68

Home community: Born in Monheim, Germany Number of years in Fond du Lac community: 10 Occupation: Coordinator of Justice, Peace and Ecology for the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “Success means so many different things. I guess I don’t see myself as so much successful as faithful. In the work of peace and justice, you don’t often know success. You plant seeds and hope they grow, mature and blossom, but often you don’t see it in your own lifetime.” To what do you owe your measure of success: “My rootedness comes from God, my upbringing and my religious congregation and what we stand for.”

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“I’ve been involved with United for Diversity a long time,” said Sister Stella, who served as board chair for many years. “We want everyone in Fond du Lac to feel welcome. Celebrate CommUNITY is one of the things we sponsor.”

As much as she appreciates working for CSA, she also appreciates their support in her personal endeavors. “They support me in some of the things I do that may not be the most popular,” she said.

Sister Stella holds up a cap advocating another of her causes — stopping violence, in all its forms, against women and girls. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood Sister Stella shows The Reporter, which included an article about her and her ministry, to a young women at the AIDS Orphan project during a visit to Tanzania. submitted photo

2011

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Sister Stella Storch, a Dominican nun who works closely with Agnesian sisters in Fond du Lac, shows some of the garments made in Tanzania and sold here to benefit the AIDS Orphan Sewing Project. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

AIDS Sewing Project “It is a three-year program,” she said. “These girls take sewing lessons and when finished, they take their tailor exams and get a sewing machine. These skills can keep these women working and from being trafficked. I sell their products – cloth batik bags.”

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She is also on the board of directors of the Volunteer Missionary Movement, which recently celebrated 30 years of existence. Headquartered in Milwaukee, the organization sends missionaries to such places as Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. “I think being an immigrant and not speaking the language at almost 9, I have a bigger world view,” she said. “I was connected to Germany and it wasn’t hard to make other connections.”

2011

Success

By Russell Plummer

The Reporter | rcplummer@fdlreporter.com

suvivor’s advocate

Sexual assault victims have a true friend in ASTOP Director Linda Selk-Yerges

While Linda Selk-Yerges looked over a gorgeous view of a city, she thought to herself, “I wonder how many people are being raped tonight.” That was when the director of Fond du Lac’s sexual abuse outreach center knew she needed to work more on her “self care” and take advantage of more opportunities to distance herself from a group that has offered cost-free counseling to more than 3,000 people since 1992. She realized it was time to get a break before resuming the work that is so much a part of her everyday life. Assist Survivors Treatment Outreach Prevention (ASTOP) has been a staple in Fond du Lac County since February 1992.

Child’s Death Selk-Yerges, 64, shows no signs of retirement as she nears 20 years with the center that started with the death of a child. “An 11-year-old girl named Vicki committed suicide. The information she left behind was that she was being sexually abused. Some people knew it was going on and tried doing something about it,” Selk-Yerges said. “It fell through the cracks.” Neighbors Curt and Cindy Kubly made it their goal in 1989 to provide better protection for children. They spread the word about Vicki’s death and protested in front of the Fond du Lac City County Government Center. Vicki’s suicide spurred conversation about what could be done to help victims of sexual assault. “One of the things that was discovered was that if I was sexually assaulted last night, I could not get into counseling for six to eight weeks or I could get into crisis counseling over someone’s lunch hour,” Selk-Yerges said.

Name: Linda Selk-Yerges Age: 64 Occupation: Director of ASTOP Home community: Fond du Lac

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Number of years in the community: 39

Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “It is an honor to be chosen, but there are many people working behind the scenes that are very deserving.” To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “It is the people around me. It’s the people that have come through ASTOP.”

“ASTOP originally started as a crisis intervention agency that a person could see us during their crisis and we would refer them out after six to eight weeks,” Selk-Yerges said. Selk-Yerges spent about 25 years teaching physical education and health at schools in Wisconsin. When she moved back to Fond du Lac, ASTOP was in its infancy.

Leadership Role Selk-Yerges was asked to be on a committee to find a prevention education program because of her background in human growth and development. She applied to be the director and did not get the job. After the director left in six months, Selk-Yerges took the reins for almost 20 years. ASTOP runs on a $330,000 yearly budget that is supported by about $55,000 in fundraisers and donations. “The rest of the budget is funded through federal and state grants,” Selk-Yerges said. “Without the grants, we are done.”

Linda Selk-Yerges, director of ASTOP in Fond du Lac The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

• ASTOP has a second location for counseling in Ripon and will be opening a satellite office in Green Lake County.

2011

• Since 1992, more than 430 victims of sexual violence have reported to St. Agnes Hospital to report a sexual assault.

Success

ASTOP facts

• An ASTOP advocate reported to the Fond du Lac Police Department 12 times in 2010 to help victims. • About 75 percent of the more than 3,000 people helped by ASTOP are below the poverty level. • Trained volunteers put in 25 to 30 hours a month to provide medical and law enforcement advocacy and answer crisis calls • Since August 1991, ASTOP has taught prevention education to more than 66,000 people.

www.astop.org Linda Selk-Yerges, director of ASTOP in Fond du Lac, shows some of the stuffed animals available in the children’s counseling room at ASTOP offices in St. Agnes Hospital. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

“I feel that ASTOP will never shut its doors. Not just because of the need, but because the work we do is so great we cannot not exist,” Selk-Yerges said.

Treatment Options Counselors at ASTOP meet with survivors an average of 12 sessions even though there is no time limit. ASTOP began with two full-time people and a part-time administrative assistant. It has grown to a crew of seven that meets with survivors, helps victims through the court process, visits schools and attends events. “Up until 1999 I used to go into local schools for prevention education. I did that maybe 50 times a year,” Selk-Yerges said. “In 2010, our prevention educator (Teale Greylord) did over 400 presentations featuring over 8,000 participants.” Selk-Yerges said it does not matter if the person wants to report the sexual contact or not. People need to just call ASTOP or set up an appointment if they report to the emergency room for a sexual assault. “As advocates, we go down to the emergency room or sometimes to law enforcement agencies if they (the victim) reports a sexual assault. We are sometimes with that person for three or four hours when they get a sexual assault examination.

We are there for support and they will be given information to access all of our services.”

Police Relationship Capt. Steve Klein said the Fond du Lac Police Department strengthened the relationship with ASTOP about two years ago and encourages an advocate be present when a sexual assault victim contacts the department. “The advocate helps the investigating officer or detective to be able to get the information they need while at the same time offering support and comforting the victim,” Klein said. “… It’s one of the most traumatic and personal crimes you can have committed against you.” About half of the victims ASTOP meets with will come in for assistance In 2010, 162 adults and 74 children disclosed sexual violence following presentations put on by ASTOP. “We had a situation in which she (Greylord) went into a school and a young woman disclosed sexual abuse and possible suicide. The next day we were able to get her and her parents into counseling,” Selk-Yerges said. When a child or adult needs to go through the court process and face his or her abuser, Angel Gilbertson of ASTOP is there for support. She can been seen in the courtroom assisting people ranging from a young child to a woman who was brutally raped inside of her home by a

stranger in July. “I could not do Angel’s job,” Selk-Yerges said. “… As a legal advocate, she is always with the client no matter what step in the process the client is in. She will help explain the court process. She is not an attorney, but she can help them better understand the process.” ASTOP’s director says the court process is difficult due to postponements and defense attorneys trying to discredit the survivor. “It’s so powerful to do this work and the hope that people are giving as we serve them is rewarding,” Selk-Yerges said. “We serve them, but they turn around and serve us by giving us a feeling that we are really make a difference.”

Self-care “To deal with this job you need to be ready to grow personally and professionally. Otherwise, this work will eat you up and spit you out after two years,” Selk-Yerges said. “I probably have 20 activities I do for self-care.” Every year Selk-Yerges goes on an eight-day silent retreat to clear her mind of sexual abuse cases. “There is so much stuff (sexual abuse) going on out there,” she said. “People don’t want to believe it because how do you wrap your head around someone wanting to rape a child? … What I had to do was come to terms with offenders. I can’t hate offenders because I cannot do that to another human being. I can hate the behaviors. Anytime there is an offender, I ask, “What is their story?”

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Astop Gets Free Office Space At St. Agnes Hospital.

2011

By Harley Buchholz Special to The Reporter

Success

The word went out quickly throughout the Holyland. World War II was raging. Blood was an urgent, life-saving need for wounded GIs. Thus the very first of a long string of successful Holyland Blood Drives, held almost 69 years ago in mid-November 1942, drew 215 donors and 176 pints of blood. The Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter of Nov. 19 listed the name of each donor and all the volunteers who helped put the drive together. Probably thousands of gallons have been given since then at what has become a major Holyland event, drawing from Taycheedah on the west, St. Cloud on the east, Calumet on the north and Dotyville on the south. Rose Faucher, who lives just outside Mount Calvary, can count the gallons. She’s the coordinator of the drive — only the third in its 69 years — and its historian.

Scrapbook of History

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lifeblood of the Holyland 20

Known far and wide, area residents set the standard with blood drive that dates to World War II

She’s assembled a scrapbook of photos, news clippings and other memorabilia from the drives and holds onto

the immaculate hand-written records kept by her predecessors. Rose has bowed to technology and now keeps records on her computer. But she has that Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter news clip from the first drive, arranged by Dr. Joseph Miller of Mount Calvary. Mrs. August Steffes became the first coordinator and was helped in later years by her daughter, Ethel Schrage. In 1970, Ethel became the drive’s second coordinator. “We always had very good success with it,” Ethel recalled. “When the weather was the worst — people couldn’t go to work — we wound up having the most come to the blood bank.” “One year the power went out, she remembered, and the local fire department supplied floodlights and generators, and Schrage Garage provided other needed support to keep the drive going. “It was unbelievable,” she remarked. “We always had good, loyal donors. They were always very anxious to know: ‘How did we do?’ It involved all of us.”

Changing Times Bring Higher Goals Donations of blood at the Holyland Blood Drive routinely top 200 pints. The largest collection in Rose Faucher’s records is 323 pints, but she acknowledges that the days of consistently meeting quotas are past “because of the many other drives that have been added. Way back when, it would be us and Fond du Lac. Now they’re at many other places.” But that’s OK. “All blood is needed,” she added. Over the years, goals were increased, from 130 pints in the 1970s to 175 in the ’80s when giving often approached 300 pints, to more than 200 as the new century began. In 1977, seven members of the Orville Ziegelbauer family were pictured in The Reporter for donating at the same time. Four other family members also gave that day. In February 1985, 293 pints were given during a power outage and a non-functioning furnace at Community Hall, now Maximillians, where drives are held. In 1992, a Reporter story noted that the quota had been met for the 100th consecutive time on the occasion of the Bloodmobile’s 100th visit. The last drive of longtime volunteers Ethel Schrage and Estelle Wagner in March 2003 beat the 210-pint goal by 10. above; Rose Faucher, currently the third coordinator in the 69-year history of the Holyland Blood Drive, holds a framed poster of the photo and banner taken in 1984 at the Holyland Bloodmobile. The photo and banner were used as part of a national campaign to encourage people to donate blood. Harley Buchholz photo

Including lots of volunteers. It was not hard to get area residents to help out, Ethel said. “They knew their jobs and did them. I called them and said, ‘Whatever you did before, do it again’ — and they all showed up. They should be proud.”

A Volunteer, Not a Gawker She recalled a drive when the Mount Calvary fire alarm sounded. The department was located across the street from Community Hall (now Maximillians where drives are held). “One guy jumps off the table to go with the volunteers. The nurse tried to stop him. She said, ‘No! You can’t do that.’ She chased him all the way out to the lobby. I told her he was a volunteer (firefighter) — everybody out there is a volunteer. She thought he was a gawker.” Side by side with Ethel all those years was Estelle Wagner, who handled publicity for the drives. The

Estelle said she had a family member who needed blood “and I knew how important it is to get blood and (that family member) is alive because of it.

Rose has three co-chairs: Nancy Lee Birschbach for recognition and recovery; Karen Holzmann, canteen; and Karen Gundert, publicist.

“I really enjoyed every bit of it,” she went on, “because we had wonderful cooperation from everyone connected. Everyone was very, very proud of how the Holyland was involved.”

Big-hearted Holylanders The two drive veterans, still Mount Calvary area residents, were there in 1984 when a photographer took the famous group picture of all of that year’s donors. A banner in front proclaimed, “Small Town Americans Have Big Hearts.” Rose has that banner now and hangs it at Maximillians for each drive. The photo went on to national fame when the American Red Cross used it in a nationwide publicity campaign. “It was used for quite a number of years,” said Rose.

Rose’s husband, David, who retired years ago from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department, is a big help, she said. Nine solicitors call potential donors with reminders in advance of each drive. There are 543 names on Rose’s computer, making up the list of potential donors. They come from Calumet, Dotyville, Johnsburg, Marytown, Mount Calvary, St. Cloud, St. Joe, St. Peter and Taycheedah. “I keep them on the list until they tell me to take them off,” Rose said. The drive also gets donors from people passing through. One year a man called from DePere to inquire about the drive and made the trip down for it.

An attempt to re-enact the photo last year with new donors failed. Rose said the picture somehow was lost.

Known Around the State

She’s been involved in the drive since the 1960s, first as a donor and since 1966 as a volunteer. Her mother had worked on the drive before her.

“We’re well-known all over the state,” said David. “We provide meat sandwiches, cake, cookies, tomato juice, pickles. It’s a good lunch for donors.”

“I like to volunteer,” Rose said. “I like to give back, give back to the community. It’s fun, like a family affair. There’s more fun and laughter.”

“We provide all the work ahead of a drive,” Rose noted. “In other drives the Red Cross does that, but here we do all the advance. We do all the food.”

All About Volunteerism The Holyland Blood Drive is all about volunteerism, from the people who give to the people who help. Many do both. “There are 40-plus volunteers on the big drive,” Rose said. There are three regular drives each year and two

She received an exceptional volunteer award from the Red Cross last year. It was presented on the day of a Holyland drive and she was upset because she couldn’t be at both places. The award was a surprise and Red Cross personnel convinced her that she could be away from the drive and at their event instead.

Probably not, although one 20-gallonplus donor — who lives in Fond du Lac — said that on moving to the city he was first advised to roll up his sleeve at Mount Calvary because of the food. More likely, though, it’s the strong sense of community and “helping out” that sparks the usually over-quota response to the Holyland Blood Drive. Besides, it’s a major social event. “It got to be a habit,” said Wilbert Kraus, a Holyland native now living in Fond du Lac. He started giving blood when he was 40. He’s 84 now. “It’s something I can do and I can’t do much anymore,” he said frankly. “As long as they want my blood, I’ll give, ya know?” Kraus feels “everyone should give. I think it’s a good cause.” His children are regular donors, some at the 10-gallon level. “I’ve got a flag with 20 gallon donor hearts,” he said. “On Nov. 15, I’ll get 21. I’m proud of that.” At the next drive, Nov. 15 at Maximillians in Mount Calvary, he’ll give the pint that will take him to his 21st gallon of donated blood. Patrick Switlick is the donor who was told to go to Mount Calvary because of the food. A donor in Madison since 1958, he wanted to continue giving when he moved to Fond du Lac in 1995. “Someone said, ‘Go to Mount Calvary.’ I didn’t want to go that far, but he said, ‘The ladies there make such good sandwiches,’ and, so, you know, I thought I’d try it.” He’s been going back ever since and expects to reach 23 gallons, possibly as early as next year. “About five years ago, I was donating,” he noted, “and a nurse mentioned I had certain antibodies (in his blood) that they can use for ‘preemies’ (babies born prematurely). Maybe not all the time but it gives me a good feeling.” In the end, that’s why people say they donate their blood. Whether they receive the more bountiful sandwiches and cakes at the Holyland Blood Drive or the more traditional cookies and juice at other drives, it gives them a good feeling.

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special drives for Type O blood. The next regular drive is Nov. 15 with a Type O drive coming on Jan. 14, 2012.

Is it the bountiful free lunch that attracts donors to the Holyland Blood Drive?

2011

two retired together in 2003 after more than 50 years of volunteering with the Red Cross drive.

Donors Take Great Pride in Holyland Blood Drive

Success

This is a copy of the group photo that went on to become part of a national blood drive campaign. It was taken in 1984. A blood drive volunteer pointed out that the children seated in the foreground, now adults, are dedicated blood donors today at Holyland blood drives. submitted photo

2011

Success

lighten up Studio shines light on beauty and artisans far beyond stained glass

Names: Howie Zanto and Liz WoodworthZanto Ages: Howie, 60; Liz, 55 Years in the community: Howie, born and raised on Fond du Lac’s East Side, with the exception of three middle-school years spent in Chicago while yearning to return to Fond du Lac; Liz arrived from Madison in 1986; the couple married in 1988. Occupation: Co-owners of Living Light Studio, established by Howie and a business partner in 1977 and purchased by Howie in 1982. Location: 314 14th St., Fond du Lac; www. livinglightstudio.net; livinglightstudio@tds. net; (920)921-1962

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Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: Liz: “Delighted and honored.” Howie: “Awesome.”

To what do you owe your measure of success? Liz: “Customer loyalty. And I attribute my success directly to Howie; I wouldn’t be in business for myself without him.” Howie: “We have a really loyal customer base. A lot of our customers share our philosophy to shop local and find something unique. I attribute a lot of my success to my dad, who knew a little bit about everything…we worked together the whole time he was alive.”

By Monica M. Walk

Liz and Howie Zanto sit on the front stairs of their business, Living Light Studio, at 314 14th St., in Fond du Lac. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

“This feels like Door County.”

important to Living Light Studio’s owners.

“This shop could be in Colorado.”

“We are conscious of being green,” said Liz. “We are conscious of social justice and justice for the planet. We wrap purchases with recycled paper. A huge percent of what we carry in our shop directly supports the artist and most of it is made in America. We walk the line of a responsible business, responsible to the planet and to citizens.”

Special to The Reporter

Living Light Studio proprietors and co-owners Howie Zanto and Liz Woodworth-Zanto frequently hear comments like these from first-time visitors to their Fond du Lac jewelry and gift shop. Returning customers tend to breathe a sigh of relaxation when they step onto the vintage wood floors and soak in the surrounding beauty. While the store name is a nod to Howie’s 30-plus years of crafting stained glass lighting, the shop now tends more toward enlightenment through beauty — although stained glass remains available. “We are well-known for our sterling silver jewelry,” Howie said, standing among display cabinets made by his late father Robert Zanto, gleaming with colored gem stones in unique settings selected by Liz, as well as other treasures, including wind chimes, boxes, carvings, clay figurines, kaleidoscopes and crystals. Many of the shop’s goods come to the studio via artist representatives and artists the couple have come to know.

Quality and Craftsmanship “We like people like us who make things,” said Liz, who began making jewelry under her grandfather’s tutelage at age 12, and went on to major in art and metal work at UW-Madison. “I select items for quality and craftsmanship, reflected in the price.” Fair prices for both customers and artists are

That sense of world connectedness brought Living Light’s owners to its most unique product: Nicaraguan pottery. The shop is the largest importer of Nicaraguan pottery in the Midwest. Along with pottery partner Connie Ramthun and her spouse Bill Volkert, Howie discovered the beauty of Nicaraguan pottery on a holiday trip in 2006. The 25 pieces brought back to the studio sold quickly. “I was enamored of it,” Howie said of the intricately painted unglazed pots. “It was beautiful. I’d never seen anything like it.”

Pottery Pipeline Liz joined the group on a follow-up trip to purchase additional pottery. Their trained eyes quickly understood the artistry involved in the products and they made a point of meeting and purchasing the art directly from the potters. The 125 pieces they brought back again sold quickly. Future trips built friendships with a local interpreter and exporter who knew the potters, and which made shipping 400 and then 1,000 pieces to Fond du Lac much easier.

Success

“This pottery is well-known in Central America,” Howie said. “We gave the artists the prices they asked for it. A couple dollars means more to them than it does to us. We want them to smile when they see us.”

2011

“We never asked for a deal,” Liz affirmed, noting how the clay has to be dug, dried, mixed and stomped before being shaped into vessels on kick wheels, and then carved and painted before firing in wood kilns. “For us, this was recognition of the workmanship and spirit of another artist. We are artists and know how long it takes to make it.” While some of the pottery is displayed in the main store, additional and larger pieces are set up in the showroom referred to as Living Light West, on the corner of Hickory and Division streets, which also houses Liz’s massage therapy business. Each piece of pottery comes with a certificate of authenticity, the artist’s signature and a photo of the artist.

Benefit Party In celebration of discovering the pottery and in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Living Light Studio, Liz and Howie held a benefit party at the Windhover. Proceeds were sent to fund after-school programs at a library near the potters’ homes and businesses in Nicaragua. That type of community support comes naturally to the couple, who regularly donate items to fundraisers for the Humane Society, Solutions Center, Habitat for Humanity, ASTOP, The Women’s Fund and other non-profit organizations. Sisters Anne Fredrich and Chris Gates were shopping together over the noon hour on a recent September weekday. Fredrich discovered Living Light Studio at a Humane Society Fundraiser featuring a donated copper horse bracelet and a set of earrings.

The sisters now wear matching pendant necklaces specially retrofitted from earrings by Liz. “I think our creative environment draws people in. It’s a unique setting,” Howie said. “I think people feel that.” Liz appreciates their deep Fond du Lac roots and the friendships built through their business. “Howie has been here so long that people come in and bring their kids in, and now we get to see those kids get married and bring their own kids in,” she said. “It’s cool to see the generations. I love that.”

An example of Nicaraguan pottery and three pieces of jewelry, including an item made with butterfly wings (bottom) are shown here. The Reporter photos by Patrick Flood

Friends Reward Idea Benefits Frequent Customers Living Light Studio co-owners Howie Zanto and Liz Woodworth-Zanto cite a commitment to pricing their wares fairly for both artisans and clients. That means clients aren’t likely to find significant sales or mark-downs on items — since the items were never significantly marked up. Instead, the studio uses a Friends Reward punch card, which can be redeemed for a discount after $200 in purchases are made. The winter holidays bring the most clients — and about 70 percent of all male clients — into the studio

during extended daily shopping hours throughout December.

• Meaningful transitions of births, deaths and retirements.

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“I didn’t know they had jewelry like that — I thought they were stained glass — so I ran over,” she said.

“We offer unique items, complementary wrapping, and cheerful service,” Liz said.

Other high-traffic events include: • The spring season of Mother’s Day, graduation, confirmation, first communion. • Special birthdays, including Sweet 16.

Success

2011

food for thought

Books Between Bites satisfies audience on at least 2 fronts

Name: Karen Kalsbeek Age: 68 Years in the community: 37, arrived in 1974 Occupation: Founder and organizer of Books Between Bites, ongoing since 1990 Location: Fellowship Hall, Salem United Methodist Church, 120 Sheboygan St.

By Monica M. Walk

Special to The Reporter

Karen Kalsbeek, a founder and organizer of the popular Books Between Bites program, waits for the speaker to begin a book review. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Food provides bodily fuel as well as pleasure for the palate. Reading works brain cells while inspiring thought.

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In combination, a meal accompanied by literature and conversation nourishes both mind and body. And all this can be ingested and enjoyed in a monthly Books Between Bites gathering in downtown Fond du Lac.

It’s a lunchtime special marking more than 20 years on this community’s social menu. Already a dedicated volunteer at Salem United Methodist Church, Karen Kalsbeek was intrigued when a then-new pastor mentioned a lunch-time program popular in the parish near the Madison Square where he recently had served. That Books Between Bites program featured an outlet for thoughtful conversation for the many nearby office employees. Salem United Methodist’s downtown location provided a similar venue. The idea resonated with Kalsbeek, and 21 years later she continues to coordinate the Fond

du Lac Books Between Bites program. The premise seems simple enough: Bring a sack lunch, make a donation for coffee or soda, and hear a book review during a 40-minute midday meal break. The event wraps up sweetly with a gift of cookies from the church.

Summer Planning But, each of those seven annual presentations is the result of a summer planning meeting, additional conversations and networking, culminating in personal invitations from Kalsbeek. “Over the years, we’ve hardly ever been turned down. The presenters have been phenomenal,” Kalsbeek said. “People are willing to do it, even though it is work for them. We offer only an audience and exposure within the community— and a sandwich and cookies.” Kalsbeek ensures the entire lineup for the year is firmed up and distributed in a printed flier

When: Second Tuesday of the month, September through November and January through April; 12:10-12:50 p.m. Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I’m flattered. I’m pleased the program will get more presence in the community.” To what do you owe your measure of success? “This is not something I do by myself. The fact is that I’ve had people work with me to come up with presenters and books. And, it’s great to have people say ‘yes’ when I ask them to present.”

before the first September presentation. The flier is mailed to those who sign up for the mailing list, and individual presentation dates often are highlighted by local media. These details are handled by Kalsbeek, who also coordinates the church’s Annual October Apple Harvest festival, serves as the local AAUW chapter’s historian and prepares taxes during tax season.

Success 2011

These women serve as the planning group for Books Between Bites at Salem United Methodist Church in Fond du Lac. From left are Lois Farina, Diane Fricken, Alma Grace, Julie Francis and Karen Kalsbeek The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Pastor Jack Stubbs is delighted with Kalsbeek’s work organizing the program during the four years they’ve known each other. “It’s really a community program, with people from all over Fond du Lac,” he said. “Karen’s genius is that she chooses well-respected, interesting people that people want to hear. The books are being reviewed by someone interesting. And, I’ve found the people who come are delightful themselves.”

Wide Range of Topics The range of book topics is wide and deep. Sometimes, Kalsbeek’s advisory group suggests a title and then searches for the individual to present the book. Other times, an individual is invited to share a book of his or her own selection. While presenters may reappear on the docket, they aren’t likely to repeat within a two-year period. And no book has ever been repeated. Books have included popular fiction and non-fiction, spirituality, local and regional history, sports, relationships, poetry, memoirs, health issues and global events. Presentation styles range from typical “school book reports” to video, power point and photographic presentations. Most presentations include conversation with attendees.

Monthly attendance ranges from groups averaging in the mid-30s to as high as the low-90s, toting their lunches to the Fellowship Hall. The largest attendance topped at 93 for Anita Anderegg’s 1995 presentation on the book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” The September 2011 presentation of “Secrets of the Ledge” by author Dwight O. Weiser drew an audience of 72.

Impact of Fond du Lac Reads Kalsbeek pays special attention to the annual Fond du Lac Reads selection and dedicates a Books Between Bites presentation to the citywide choice. “We are just down the street from the library, and it makes sense to participate,” she said. She noted that locating retired teacher and coach Sal Curcurio to address this year’s “When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi” on Oct. 11 promised to be a great match. “He said, ‘You know, he’s St. Vincent to us,’” Kalsbeek said with a laugh. Since presenters share much of themselves in their book interpretations, many presentations remain memorable long after the event. Kalsbeek recalled Vietnam veteran Ben Roder, who had recently made a return visit to Vietnam with his wife, addressing “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. “He didn’t like the book,” Kalsbeek said. “We told him he could present however he wanted, and he chose to read some of the stories.

top: Sal Curcurio, a former football coach, reviews “When Pride Still Mattered,” a biography of Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, at a recent Books Between Bites program. center: Shirley Pietman listens closely with her hand on her chin to the speaker at Books Between Bites at Fellowship Hall in Salem United Methodist Church. bottom: Florence and James Williams of Fond du Lac enjoy a bite of lunch while the speaker reviews a book for the audience. The Reporter photos by Patrick Flood

The audience was spellbound. It was great.” The meeting scheduled on 9/11/01 when New York’s Twin Towers were attacked proved another memorable gathering. “Dr. Kristine Krumenauer, an art professor from Marian, was

scheduled to speak on a book about Georgia O’Keeffe,” Kalsbeek said. “We went ahead and had Books Between Bites. We did pause…but the world isn’t supposed to come to a standstill because people have done this. It seemed like a good thing to be doing.”

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“Our goal is to have something different to do on a lunch hour for people downtown,” Kalsbeek said. “Something to stretch their minds, perhaps. People love it. We’ve been blessed with great presenters.”

2011

By Doug Whiteley

Success

The Reporter | dwhiteley@fdlreporter.com Leann Eimermann got a pretty good gig at a young age this summer. After graduating in May of 2010 with a business degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, she was named women’s bowling coach for the Warhawks this August, leading the program she captained as a senior. Considering that she almost went to a different university to play another sport, it seems like it all worked out for the best for the 24-year-old Campbellsport native. A 2006 Campbellsport High School graduate, Eimermann was a cross country runner, a soccer player and a bowler for the Cougars. As a soccer player she was a two-time team MVP and earned all-conference mention.

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The goalkeeper stood out to UW-Green Bay scouts when they saw her at a game they attended to watch another player on an opposing team. The scouts followed her progress and offered her a partial scholarship after her senior season.

striking out on her own

Campbellsport woman takes reins as bowling coach at UW-Whitewater

A team captain in bowling and thirdplace finisher in the state, Eimermann already had plans to attend Whitewater and continue her bowling career.

A Warhawk Bowler Eimermann mulled the offer, but she decided to honor her commitment to the Warhawks, even though as an NCAA Division III program the Warhawks could offer her no scholarship

Name: Leann Eimermann

money to bowl. “It was a really hard decision,” Eimermann said. “I love bowling, and I love playing soccer. But in reality, I got beat up every single game playing soccer. If you want to stay healthy and not be hurt all the time, bowling was the better of the two.” As a youth, Eimermann bowled in the junior leagues when she was 5, but then played basketball through eighth grade. Her older sister joined the high school bowling team in 2000 and enjoyed it so much that it rubbed off on Leann. When she became high-school age, Eimermann joined the bowling team and loved it as well. “I pretty much started my freshman year, and I guess I was a natural at it. My mom was a bowler on Wednesday nights and she helped coach me,” she said.

King Pin Influence The attraction to bowling for her was that bowling is a main source of entertainment in Campbellsport at King Pin Lanes. The motivation was her sister, more specifically, beating her fourth-place finish at State. Eimermann was a three-year all-conference performer for the Cougars, then took third place in singles her senior year to surpass her sister’s mark. At Whitewater, she was a four-year letterwinner and a member of the school’s first team to qualify for the NCAA National Tournament. She helped contribute to a school record for a singles game total and a school-record Baker game of 261.

Age: 24 Hometown: Campbellsport Residence: Whitewater To what (or whom) do you owe your measure of success? “(Cary Serwe) is a big part of why Campbellsport was the first school in the whole state of Wisconsin that had bowling recognized as a varsity sport. He did a lot for high school bowling in general in the state. He’s an amazing coach, and I can’t give him enough credit. He knows how to run a business and coach a team.” On being from Campbellsport: “I moved back when I was done with college. I don’t know how to describe it: small-town living, I guess. It’s really appealing and everyone is friendly. It’s a really nice place to live.”

Eimermann was hired in August after former coach Amber Lemke took a Division I job at Stephen F. Austin University in July. “We are very pleased to hire Leann,” said UWW Director of Athletics Paul Plinske in a statement. “ … Leann was an outstanding Warhawk student-athlete who left a positive impact on us, and she will make a positive difference on our campus.”

Coaching Cougar Boys Last year, Eimermann returned to Campbellsport and coached the Cougar boys team and worked as an assistant manager for Cary Serwe at King Pin Lanes. “It was definitely pretty interesting,” Eimermann said. “I had 21 boys to coach by myself. Basically what I learned is that if you can motivate

Success

Campbellsport native Leann Eimermann bowls during her senior season at UW-Whitewater. Eimermann doesn’t bowl competitively currently, but her Whitewater women’s bowling team is getting started practicing this season under the first-year coach. UW-Whitewater photo

2011

your players, they’re going to perform. As long as you make it fun for them, they’ll perform. If it’s work, no one’s going to do it and they won’t care.” Serwe said he was pleased to hear that Eimermann got the Whitewater coaching position. “She’s definitely competent enough to handle the job and has enough experience,” he said. “She was a very good coach with the boys team she had, and that’s not always an easy position for a girl coaching boys, or visa versa.

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“She’s a very good people person who has good marketing skills, and she follows through.”

Partnering For A Better Tomorrow

One would guess that the biggest hurdle that Eimermann has would be earning and keeping the respect of the bowlers, who are, in some cases, only a couple years younger than her. Eimermann is not overly concerned about that. “There were about four girls on the team that were there when I was on the team,” she said. “They respected me because I was the captain. They were comfortable coming to me for advice. Already in my senior year I was kind of getting eased into the coaching role. “I’m kind of a strict person, and I don’t tolerate some of the nonsense. Some of the coaches can let that slide, but you have to set your boundaries early and often.” When asked what she saw as her biggest challenge to the job, Eimermann said the challenge equates to her goal, which is to hold up her program’s end of the bargain in the Director’s Cup points standings. UWW finished sixth last year in points that totaled for all of the school’s sports.

The way Eimermann and her team can contribute is to make it to the NCAA Nationals. “My biggest aspiration is to make it to Nationals. That’s my goal and making it gets us more support on campus. More people will know that we’re out there, and we’ll get more respect that way. Recruiting and everything else will become so much easier once we make it to the NCAA Nationals.” Her quest starts soon. Bowling season begins with practice in late October, breaks in mid-November until after the semester break, then runs until the middle of April.

Fond du Lac School District WI-5001389698

“She comes with high regard from Campbellsport,” Serwe said. “She’s a great bowler, a great employee, and a great coach for the year she was here. You can only applaud her for going on to bigger and better things.”

72 W. 9th Street • Fond du Lac, WI 54935 920-929-2900 • www.fonddulac.k12.wi.us

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The Goal Is Nationals

2011

Success

CAN’T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN Experience in Vietnam spurs area man to guide younger vets and a life of community service By Sharon Roznik

The Reporter | sroznik@fdlreporter.com

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While waiting decades to get the benefits he deserved, Vietnam veteran Richard Vander Velde never wavered from his commitment to give back to his community.

What carried the Mount Calvary area resident through good times and bad is a fortitude made of steel — the kind that prompted him to play Santa Claus to soldiers in rice fields, save animals from a burning barn, and counsel new veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan about the hardship of war and how to adjust to civilian life. The world can be a tough place and no one knows that better than Vander Velde, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s quite possible he wouldn’t be telling his story at all if it weren’t for his daughter, Sadie Vander Velde, who, among others, holds him in high esteem. “My dad is extremely quiet and for a long time he didn’t talk about Vietnam. He has survived cancer twice but never once stopped reaching out to help

Vietnam veteran Richard Vander Velde of the Mount Calvary area studies names on the traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall, which was on display in Princeton during a traveling tour of the country. submitted photo

other people,” she said. Born in Beaver Dam and raised in Friesland, Vander Velde said while growing up his family bounced around to different towns. When he was a teen living in Fond du Lac, his parents decided to move to Illinois so he stayed behind with family friends, Arlan and Eunice Sampson, and helped work their farm. Two of his brothers also found work and stayed in the area.

Vietnam Service In 1965 Vander Velde was drafted into the Army and served for 13 months with the 29th Civil Affairs Company during the Vietnam War. His unit was charged with helping the Vietnamese get back on their feet after attacks on their villages, as well as rebuilding schools and hospitals. “When the Marines got into a firefight we would go in there and help the village recover, try to make things better,” he said. For the duration, he and seven of his fellow soldiers were stationed with the 3rd Marine Division, in

which they witnessed a lot of bloodshed, watched friends die before their eyes. Despite the imminent danger, members of the Civil Affairs Company weren’t allowed to carry guns. Even when the situation became dire, they were told they had to wait to get clearance to shoot. “The first two weeks I cried a lot — it was pretty scary. After awhile I looked at it as a job that needed to get done. If things got really hairy, we took matters into our own hands,” he said. Back home, protesters were calling for a halt to the bombing. It just made matters worse for everyone fighting in Vietnam, he said. “When I was over there, they stopped the bombing twice, and each time it started up again it was pretty horrific. I’d say that the protesting caused a quarter to a third more casualties,” he said.

Santa Claus Premiere Near the holidays, his company was rummaging through a warehouse, scavenging for whatever they could use, and came across a Santa Claus

Success 2011 Richard Vander Velde greets one of the llamas at Villa Loretto ranch in Mount Calvary. He helped rescue llamas and other animals from a barn fire at Villa Loretto. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood | top right: Richard Vander Velde stands near his name on the memory wall at Mount Calvary American Legion grounds. There are about 500 names on the wall. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood | Bottom right: Richard Vander Velde has played the role of Santa Clause since he was a soldier in Vietnam. With him are his daughter, Sadie the elf, who was about 10 years old when the photo was taken, and an unidentified sister at Villa Loretto Nursing Home. submitted photo

“Nobody would put it on and I said I’d wear it and I went all over Da Nang, out in the fields and the countryside, visiting the soldiers to cheer them up. I’ve played Santa every year since,” he said. These days he greets children during the holidays at the Mount Calvary American Legion Post and visits residents at Villa Loretto Nursing Home in Mount Calvary, where all the sisters know him by name. Sadie said while growing up in the Holyland near Wolf Lake, her father instilled in her and her four siblings a sense of patriotism and duty to be a service to others. “He told us we were very lucky, very fortunate and we should give back to the world,” she said.

Friend of the Villa Sister Theresa Vandeberghe, a retired nurse and former administrator at Villa Loretto, calls Vander Velde a true friend.

“Richard is always here for the residents at Christmas. He has a true Santa Claus laugh,” she said. The day the barn started to burn one of the sisters tried to get the animals out but she couldn’t. Then Vander Velde came to the rescue with Sister Stephen and managed to save the llamas, getting spit at by the stressed animals in the process. After the llama rescue, he became a Mount Calvary hero of sorts, said Sadie. “He’s been around to do a lot of other things to help us out. He’s a great volunteer,” Vandeberghe said. As an active member of the Legion (he serves as a member of the Color Guard) and because of his own experience, Vander Velde spends time counseling returning veterans. Many of the veterans have made it through two and sometimes three tours of duty and are weary of war, yet can’t readjust to civilian life. “I know how they feel. You don’t want to make

friends or meet people. You are always holding them away at arm’s length,” he said.

Bear Hug Therapy He recalls one recent meeting with a soldier who was struggling with the past. “Two of our young veterans told me about a friend of theirs who was having a hard time. He was messed up in the head because he’d seen too much over there. They had tried reasoning with him but the situation was going from bad to worse,” Vander Velde said. It turns out that during his tour in Iraq the soldier had switched seats with his best friend who wanted to ride in the front of a vehicle. His friend ended up getting killed. Vander Velde was directed to a local bar, where he approached the man, grabbed him in a giant bear hug and said, “If you don’t get past this, you will kill yourself.” Continued on Page 30

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suit.

2011

Success

Continued from Page 29

“The other guys told me after that the guy did a 180-degree turn with his life. I’d like to think that I helped him in some way,” he said. He makes sure his community offers that same kind of patriotic support. The Legion has set up a fund to send care packages to soldiers overseas. The local school children in Mount Calvary write letters to their service members, which currently number around 40, Vander Velde said. “There’s going to be a lot of troops coming home in the future and are going to need a lot of help. It’s up to us,” he said.

Pig Roast Catastrophe? Jean Elliot, Vander Velde’s youngest sister, recalls her brother hosting a pig roast for their mother’s 80th birthday. She shares the following story: “The night before, he set everything up and we were all salivating with the thought. Mind you, there were approximately 100 guests invited to the family farm by noon in St Cloud. Myself, my brother Larry and Dad walked out to the pit in the morning and saw nothing but ashes. At first, it was horror but then the giggles started from Larry and Dad. Dick came out and said a couple of expletives and went into immediate action without even flinching. Even though it was now early Sunday morning, he woke up a local butcher in the neighborhood and procured us some hamburgers and hot dogs on short notice. He kept his undying sense of humor and kept smiling through what most of us would have thought as a catastrophe.”

Despite debilitating bouts of PTSD, Vander Velde said he gets through each day with support from his family, especially his wife Kathy, who is a breast cancer survivor. “We talk about it. Sometimes, when I have an episode, I bring up things that happened to me. At my last visit to the VA a lady gave me a book called ‘Tears of a Warrior.’ It has given me a new understanding of life and what I am experiencing,” he said. Vander Velde is enjoying retirement on the fiveacre, century-old farm he purchased from his father-in-law. With his family spread out across the state and in Minnesota, he and Kathy spend their weekends traveling. He likes to fish with his sons, and for the past two years, has worked with Habitat for Humanity. “I figure I’m still alive after everything, so I can keep giving back. In helping others I’ve learned it’s more important to listen than give your own advice,” he said. top: Richard Vander Velde poses for a photo portrait at his home near Mount Calvary. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood middle: This is the Santa Claus suit Richard Vander Velde wore for the first time in Vietnam. submitted photo bottom: A youthful Richard Vander Velde is shown near an Army vehicle in Vietnam 44 years ago. submitted photo

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Vander Velde, now 66, has twice recovered from melanomas that almost took his life. He took early retirement from Mercury Marine after 35 years, but when he contacted the VA to apply for disability benefits, he was turned down. He said it felt like a slap in the face.

“We started applying back in 2007 because of his cancer and his PTSD. He was denied benefits and told that he was a liar,” Sadie said. “He was in the Army and his job was to rebuild schools and roads and make us look like good guys and they said because he was never injured in active combat he didn’t qualify. Imagine how that made him feel,” she said.

Name: Richard Vander Velde

In 2009 the disability laws were changed so Vietnam era veterans no longer have to jump through hoops to prove their disability. The day her father’s benefits were approved was an emotional day, Sadie said.

Number of years in the community: 44

Veteran Volunteer Through the year countless people have approached Sadie to tell her just how much her father has helped them. She estimated he has helped move more than 200 people. “I know for my dad it was never about the money. It was about the government acknowledging what they did to these men,” she said.

Age: 66 Occupation: Retired Home community: Mount Calvary

Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “That’s pretty cool.” To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “To good family members, to people who listen, to people who get along and keep on moving.”

Success 2011

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Since 1936, C.D. Smith has been honored to help shape Wisconsin’s Economic Landscape with INNOVATIVE corporate structures, SUSTAINABLE manufacturing plants, STATE OF THE ART health care facilities, and INSPIRING educational schools and amenities.

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CONTINUING TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

2011

Success

jack of all trades

Ex-North Fond du Lac star turns his athletic pursuits into multifaceted career Name: Jason Witczak Age: 33 Home community: Originally North Fond du Lac Occupation: He is a golf teacher, competes in long-drive golf tournaments, and has been a professional place kicker and punter. Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I feel pretty honored. I’ve come a long way from the days back in North Fond du Lac.”

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To what do you owe your measure of success? “I owe it all to my parents. Now I have a great support system; I have a wife who believes in me and my decision and the path we’ve chosen. I’ve got a little one, and he keeps me going.”

By Michael Rogers,

The Reporter | msrogers@fdlreporter.com When he was a young kid in North Fond du Lac, Jason Witczak loved playing whatever sport was in season. He couldn’t get enough of it and it became a struggle to get him off the course, the court or the field. “All those nights I kept saying ‘one more,’ ” Witczak said. “One more whatever it was — shooting hoops, throwing a ball, kicking a ball,

Jason Witczak tees off one of his long drives. His golf drives are so good that he has been a part of World Long Drive competitions. submitted photo

hitting a golf ball. All those nights (my dad) had to wait for that one more.”

where he teaches golf and has worked with 150 clients.

It used to be one more play. Nowadays ‘one more’ could be used to describe Witczak’s professional pursuits. Currently living in Phoenix, he’s doing the work of about four men.

Throw in that he’s got a wife, Jaime, and a 14-month-old son, Chance, and there isn’t much down time.

Man on the Go Describing his occupation proves to be an inexact science. For 10 years he’s been a professional placekicker and punter. He never made an NFL team out of the preseason, but has experienced success in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League. About five years ago he turned his ability to blast drives from the tee box into appearances in the Re/Max World Long Drive Championships. He still competes in long drive tournaments and he said his longest drive was 423 yards. In September he qualified from the Southwest Section for the National Club Professional Championship, and if he does well in that tournament next June he’ll earn a spot in the PGA Championship. He’s also a part owner of Adobe Dam Golf Center, a nine-hole executive course and driving range

“I’m kind of all over the board,” Witczak said with a laugh. “I’m always busy, always working out. I’m still doing the same things I was doing as a little kid; just trying to make money doing it.”

Balancing Family, Profession Greg Guenther, his one-time boss as a kid at Rolling Meadows Golf Course and now friend and golf partner during the winter, said Witczak’s ability to balance family and profession is what impresses him the most. “I’m most proud of him that he’s got a young guy and a family and he’s making everything work,” Guenther said, “and that’s the important thing.” Witczak said kicking is finally off the board. He competed in the Arena Bowl with the Arizona Rattlers this past summer, which his team lost 73-70, and he said his kicking shoes are still in the trunk of his car. With one thing off the list, it was time for another. He’d like to not just qualify for the PGA

Success 2011 left: Jason Witczak has been a professional kicker, most recently playing for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League, shown above, and played in the Arena Bowl this past summer. right: Jason Witczak, right, lives with his wife, Jaime, and young son, Chance, in Phoenix, but he hasn’t forgotten his roots in North Fond du Lac. submitted photo

“The hard thing with football, I had a successful career playing 10 professional seasons but it came down to someone telling me I couldn’t play,” he said. “Now with golf I have the opportunity to control my own destiny. “That’s all about your belief in yourself, whether you can do it or not. At the end of the day if you shoot 68 or 72, that’s the difference; not someone telling you you’re not good enough.”

of the stars of the PGA Tour, but don’t expect that to stop him. “Even right now trying to do this golf thing, I feel like an underdog and I always have felt like an underdog,” he said about his driving force to succeed. His sights are definitely high, but that’s nothing new. He had a scholarship to play golf at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, but got bored with the sport.

And what does he think of his chances of making a career out of playing golf?

He sent his high school football highlight tapes to 85 Division I schools. Only two were interested and he transferred to Marshall University where he had limited action on the football field before transferring again, this time to Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State, where he was an allconference punter.

“I think they’re pretty good,” he said. “My strength is I hit it longer than almost everybody that plays. My short game has gotten so much better. I worked with some great teachers the past months.”

He’s had tryouts or appeared in preseason games with the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills and most recently with the Baltimore Ravens. But now it’s time for golf.

At 33 years old, he’s an old guy compared to a lot

“I’m curious to see what’s going to happen the next

THE

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He’s a Spectator Too Don’t think that he’s just a participant either. His family had season tickets to Packers games when he was younger and there were plenty of trips to County Stadium or the Bradley Center to watch the Brewers and Bucks. He still has an itch to see his favorite teams and even went to Chase Field in Phoenix to watch the Brewers play in the National League Division Series earlier this month. “He’s just a regular guy. He’s a Wisconsin guy. He’s interested in all Wisconsin sports teams,” Guenther said. “If the Bucks are in Phoenix, he wants a ticket and goes to the game.” Witczak said he’ll never forget his roots and all the work his parents did for him, so it should be no surprise that his family life is what Guenther notices most. “He’s always gone out of his way to help me out in Phoenix,” Guenther commented. “He’s made me a part of his family out there too.”

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Championship, but he’d like to try his hand at the “Q-School,” which would qualify him to compete in the PGA Tour. For the always ambitious Witczak, it is just another challenge.

2011

Success

the wild side of fdl horror

Local writer polishes craft as author of scary fiction

Name: Dean H. Wild Age: 50 Occupation: Advertising operations manager by day. Writer of horror by night. Home community: Brownsville

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Number of years in the community: 11

Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I have all sorts of reactions — surprised and honored being most in the forefront. I’ve been doing this (writing) for so long that seeing publication of my work seems more like a progressive achievement. I am very grateful for this acknowledgement of my years-long efforts in the craft.” To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “To perseverance in a very tough market, to a fantastic support system of friends and relatives, to professional acquaintances, and especially to my wife Julie who remains constant and assured, brutally honest and yet full of praise about my writing.”

By Dorothy Bliskey Special to The Reporter

When you’re greeted at the front desk of Action Advertiser/The Reporter with a friendly “Hello, can I help you?” it just might be Dean Wild, an employee with the company for 27 years. But you’d never guess he writes horror stories by night. With Wild as his last name, it couldn’t be more fitting. Although his day job doesn’t have a whole lot to do with writing, his nights are spent creating terror at the keyboard — in his own boogeyman land near Brownsville. With his first horror story published at age 18, Wild has gone on to write many more. Some have gained national and international acclaim, appearing in paperback anthologies or magazines with a worldwide audience. Although he hasn’t published a book yet, he has four in the works. “Two others are half-started and locked away in my computer,” Wild said, noting his goal is to get one of his books in print soon.

Wild writes all levels of horror fiction — from soft horror and psychological terror, to speculative works of dark fantasy.

Titles Provide a Hint Titles of his short stories hint at what might lie ahead — short stories like “Harm None” in the paperback “Bell, Book and Beyond”; “The Kid,” which appeared in “Vivisections”; and “Flesh” in the paperback anthology “Twice the Terror” — lure the reader into Wild’s boogeyman land. The story that generated the most reaction to date was his tale titled “Harm None.” The book carrying his story had a witchcraft theme and sold well. Wild’s story earned an honorable mention by editor Ellen Datlow in her “Year’s Best Horror” collection. “Not everyone will be familiar with Ellen or her work,” Wild said, “but to gain Ms. Datlow’s attention is a valuable asset to any horror author.”

Menacing predatory creatures crop up out of nowhere as the main character races down the strange highway, agonizing over a tryst he’s had with another woman. But there’s a point to the story, an observation to be made or a lesson learned in a Twilight Zone sort of way. “I usually try to put some level of truth into everything, no matter how creepy the story is,” Wild said. “I try to keep a human element in there. Any transgression has its price.” Another of his works, “The Bond,” is a story set in a mortuary where the undertaker’s two aunts (who have passed on quite unexpectedly) are delivered to his “prep” area — a tale that might stop some readers in their tracks. “Like all horror tales, mine tend to poke at parts of the psyche most people keep guarded,” Wild said. “Fear can be an uncomfortable thing, but at the same time we are occasionally drawn to the haunted house attractions at the county fair or the death-defying roller coaster at the local theme park. Every once in a while, we need to examine those restricted areas of the mind — even when a reluctant part of us cries out that we shouldn’t.”

History of His Fascination Wild’s fascination with terror began as a boy in the late 1960s, when at the age of 6 he watched his first scary movie on TV, with his mother at his side. “We watched as Fredric March contorted from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. There was no discussion, we just watched as a midnight breeze carried scents of rain through the living room windows,” Wild recalled. “When the movie was over, I went off to bed unafraid — in fact, even more fascinated than ever by the world of horror.” “My mother called them ‘spook movies,’” Wild said, noting that late-night television back then had just three stations. “At the midnight hour they either went off the air or showed a worn, spliced black and white horror film. They were my first taste of terror.” On his website, www.deanwild.com, Wild goes on to describe how he began writing his own frightening tales. “That following Christmas, at age 7, I was given a gift that would change me forever,” he wrote, noting the book contained the stories of Dracula and Frankenstein. “It was then I realized I didn’t have to wait for Saturday night (TV) to get a taste of grim storytelling. Not when there were ‘monster books’ (another of my mother’s terms.)”

His First Written Story Another gift that next summer — a rummage sale typewriter — clinched the deal, Wild recalls. “At the age of 7, I created my first written piece. It was

Mary Thompson Fingerhut of Fond du Lac, a retired English teacher from Oakfield High School who had Wild as a student more than 30 years ago, recalls her student’s wild stories. “Some very eloquent seniors graduated from our English program, but none whose writing was more mesmerizing and dynamic than Dean Wild’s,” she said. “Writing was something Dean just had to do, story after story pouring out, and each of them inhabited by quirky characters with unusual — and often bizarre — behavior. If you want to get a taste of Dean Wild, just ‘google’ his name, and get ready for a good tale.”

Inspired by King Wild says he is inspired by writers like Stephen King. “King’s everyday characters and real-world settings suddenly torn asunder by terror, dysfunction or downright nightmarish abominations is the stuff that makes the horrorlover in me sing,” Wild said. “I will always love King’s book, ‘Salem’s Lot.’” To polish his writing, Wild has taken numerous continuing education writing courses at UW-Madison, where he has also attended the Writers’ Institute. In an enrichment program for fiction writers called Absolute Write, Wild was mentored by TM Wright, an author internationally known for soft horror.

Where To Find Dean Wild’s Horror Stories Dean Wild’s works can be located by going to his website, www.deanwild.com or to the online Horror Zine magazine website that has gained international attention — www.thehorrorzine.com — and where he serves as assistant editor.

“He has since become a good friend,” Wild said.

He can also be reached via email at scrybe@ deanwild.com.

Borderlands Bootcamp, an intense workshop for writers based in Baltimore, Maryland, placed Wild face-to-face with some of the most notable authors in the horror writing business. Internationally, he is a member of the Horror Writers Association. Locally, he’s a member of the Fond du Lac Area Writers.

His story, “Flesh” appears in the book “Twice the Terror” at Horror Zine as does his highway madness story, “A Bad Stretch of Road,” in the book called “What Fears Become.”

Writing Horror Fiction Gets His Blood Pumping “Part of it is simply due to the way I’m wired inside,” Wild said. “Usually, whatever I try to write turns dark, without my trying. And I’ll never stop writing it. Never.”

Both books are available at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. The book, “What Fears Become,” is available in print or for e-reader (Nook or Kindle). Some of the books carrying Wild’s horror stories are out of print, but can be found at online sites like www.half.com. An example is his story “Harm None,” which is in the print book titled “Bell,

Book and Beyond,” a collection of stories about witchcraft. above: Dean Wild poses amid special lighting to provide a sinister effect. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

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Transgression Has a Price

“My fascination continued to a point where adults began to wonder when I was going to outgrow ‘the monster thing.’ My answer, though unspoken, was, ‘Never.’”

2011

His story, which is a driver’s worst nightmare, can be read online, downloaded for ebook reading or ordered from Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. His story appears to be about road rage gone mad.

a story of a phantom chasing a girl across ocean-swept rocks. I don’t think I even knew what a phantom was,” Wild remembered.

Success

Last month, Wild’s story titled “A Bad Stretch of Road” was among several other frightening stories that appeared in the book, “What Fears Become.”

2011

Success

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Special to The Reporter

You’re probably better off just planting a patch of purple loosestrife or garlic mustard. She’ll hunt you down.

2011

If you want to reach Connie Ramthun during daylight hours, carrier pigeon or a message in a bottle might work about as well as any technology.

Success

By Lee Marie Reinsch

Ramthun (it rhymes with Samson) has spent the last 30 years ridding the landscape of invasive species and helping return land to native prairie. “It’s her life’s mission,” said Jackie Scharfenberg, environmental educator for the Kettle Moraine State Forest Northern Unit, where Ramthun volunteers and serves on the board of its Friends group. “She is really passionate about recreating natural plant communities and controlling and eradicating invasive species.” Ramthun’s mission goes beyond her volunteer work with a host of nature-focused organizations to her wildflower and grass seed business and it even pervades her life on the Dundee-area property that’s been in her family since childhood. The Wisconsin Council on Invasive Species named Ramthun and 26 other citizen volunteers Invader Crusaders in 2010 for their work in battling the spread of environmentally harmful alien plants.

Connie Ramthun leads the charge in battle to halt spread of invasive species

She regularly organizes weed-pull events for invasives such as poison parsnip, Japanese hedge parsley and Canada thistle. She educates the public on nature topics and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, say people who know her. Ramthun was one of the instigators of the Gottfried Prairie & Arboretum, according to Erika Jensen, former executive director of the arboretum.

Driving Force Before the 40-acre parcel on the grounds of University of WisconsinFond du Lac was re-established with plants and trees indigenous to Wisconsin, the land led previous lives as campus lawn, an airport and farmland. It’s now open to the public, free of charge. “Connie’s really the driving force behind that project,” Jensen said. “I think it makes a significant impact on people’s quality of life in Fond du Lac.” Through her business, Kettle Moraine Natural Landscaping, Ramthun promotes native plantings, designs seed mixes for specific light and soil conditions and consults on prairie restorations. She says she aims to demonstrate that native flowers, grasses and shrubs can be planted to look as formal, neat and “acceptable to the public” as any non-native species arrangement. If this bias against alien plants sounds like botanical bigotry, it’s actually protection of the environment that motivates activists like Ramthun. They say many exotic species disrupt the ecosystem, competing for valuable resources with native plants. “Wisconsin has many non-native species, and most of them above: Connie Ramthun, a proponent of wildflowers and prairie restoration, is shown amid a cluster of black-eyed Susans near her Dundee area home. Bill Volkert photo Continued on Page 38

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spreading the wildflower gospel

Ramthun helped the Department of Natural Resources expand its monitoring and control program for invasive species with boot brushes at trail heads in the Kettle Moraine so visitors can brush weed seeds off their shoes instead of spreading them around.

2011

Success

Continued from Page 37

Feather-Brained Optimism?

behave themselves, like carrots in your garden or cabbage,” Scharfenberg said. “But then there are those that are like environmental bullies — they are more aggressive and take over the native plants and push them out of the way.”

Prairies aren’t just a random hippie-throwback thing or the horticulturist’s version of the rally against Wall Street. Their conservation is a matter of life and death for many birds and beneficial insects, according to Ramthun.

Purple loosestrife, buckthorn and honeysuckle are believed to have been brought over by European immigrants as ornamentals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources. Europeans also brought the now-blacklisted garlic mustard to use in cooking and as a medicinal.

It might be said that prairies are the grassroots action centers for wildlife.

These rampantly running non-native plants even destroy the integrity of many areas deemed by conservancies as protected nature preserve areas, Ramthun said. “Because there is such a shortage of people to manage these properties, sometimes these nonnatives come in and they’re here to stay,” Ramthun said.

insects play an important part in the cycle of nature. Birds need insects for nourishment, insects need plants for their own nourishment, and many plants depend on insects such as butterflies and bees for pollination. “In summer, many birds eat insects and in fall, they rely on seeds and berries,” Ramthun said. “And bushes won’t have berries unless they’re pollinated.”

“‘Many alien plants are favored by the ornamental industry because they are ‘pest free,’ but no one ever thought pest-free plants would escape and replace native plants in natural areas everywhere,’” Ramthun said, reading from the book “Bringing Nature Home” by University of Delaware professor Douglas Tallamy (Timber Press, 2007). “‘When plants arrive at our shores, they bring few or none of the insects and pathogens that curb their growth at home.’”

Other problems arise when insects can’t derive energy from plants with which they haven’t evolved.

Fewer bugs may sound like a good thing, but

“We can’t live without our insects,” Ramthun said.

Eurasian phragmite grasses and reeds that feed up to 170 kinds of insects in their homelands have only a handful of predators here, according to Ramthun. Thus the grasses are able to spread unchecked in shallow waterways, crowding out other life forms.

Dirty Hands, Infectious Energy

Name: Connie Ramthun

Ramthun teaches classes and holds workshops on native plants through

Age: 63 Occupation: Owner of Kettle Moraine Landscaping; and part-time employee at Consultants Laboratory, Agnesian HealthCare Home community: Dundee Number of years in the community: 50 Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I’m really honored to be selected. I never expected it.”

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To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “I owe my measure of success to my mother because she was an avid gardener and helped instill in me a love of plants; and to Bill Volkert, my husband, who introduced me to native wildflowers and natural plant communities.”

Connie Ramthun stands among bursts of prairie color in the entryway garden that she planted at UW-Fond du Lac. The Reporter photos by Patrick Flood

An American linden tree towers above the photographer at the UW-Fond du Lac Gottfried Arboretum.

“She’s really the person people turn to when they have a project to complete or need advice on something,” she said. “People look to me as an authority, but really, I’m still learning too,” Ramthun said. “There is still a lot to learn.” Ramthun helped design and plant the butterfly garden at the Henry S. Reuss Ice Age Visitors Center. Her larger planting projects have included John Deere in Horicon, St. Joseph Hospital in West Bend, Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes Convent and Columbus Park in Campbellsport.

McDowell called Ramthun an earthkeeper, “dedicated to trying to restore and keeping native species going and inspiring other people to do the same thing.”

2011

Jensen said Ramthun is one of the most knowledgeable people around on native plants.

you started weeding at the prairie because she really wanted to get rid of these invasives at UW-Fond du Lac,” McDowell said. “So I was motivated to volunteer there so I could spend time with her.”

Success

UW-Fond du Lac, the University of Wisconsin Extension, Friends of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Fond du Lac Audubon Society, Fox Valley Wild Ones and other organizations. Some of her topics have included seed collecting, propagating native plants, identifying wildflowers and establishing native plant gardens.

Scharfenberg describes Ramthun as an extremely focused and hard worker who wants to get the task done. “She’s like a general in charge of the troops. She’s a leader by example — she’s not one to tell you we need to do something and not do anything — she’s out there herself,” Scharfenberg said. “She’s got a lot of energy, and it’s a contagious energy.” In any organization, some people are doers and get involved, and she is one of those folks, said Mike McFadzen of the Friends of Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Her several acres of nursery at Kettle Moraine Landscaping contain more than 80 species of Wisconsin native plants.

“She holds a very high standard for herself, in a positive way. She’s the ideal board member,” McFadzen said.

Her home property, where she lives with husband, ornithologist and wildlife expert Bill Volkert, is a living illustration of the potential of native planting, according to Jeanne McDowell, who met her through the Arboretum some 15 years ago.

But if there’s one thing not spreading like invasive weeds, it’s volunteers to carry on the fight. Ramthun is doing her best to spread the preserve-theland fever to others, but she and her eco-acolytes are just a few people out in the trenches.

“Almost the only way you could meet up with her at the time was if

No doubt she envies the ability of weeds to spread like, well, weeds.

above: A field of prairie flowers and plants dwarfs Connie Ramthun near her home in the Kettle Moraine area. Bill Volkert photo

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SHOP THE GLOBE AT OUR NEW LOCATION IN PEEBLES

Groups gather with Connie Ramthun as she teaches a class on wildflower identification. She is the owner of Kettle Moraine Natural Landscapes at her home near Dundee. Bill Volkert photos

2011

Success

carving an artistic niche Campbellsport couple’s creations are an extension of their inner passions

By Joann Schrauth

Special to The Reporter

Chuck and Kathy Wilke are shown at their farm home near Campbellsport. Chuck is a carver and Kathy is a watercolor artist. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

“When I become passionate about something, I want to put it down on paper. If someone wants to buy it, that’s OK. If not, that’s OK too.”

Their works attract an appreciative audience wherever they go. They have received numerous awards, and their creations have been on display in a variety of galleries and art programs.

And, if a painting is lucky, Kathy said, it might go to a show.

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CAMPBELLSPORT — Kathy and Chuck Wilke enjoy a full and fruitful life together and a passion for art and carving.

Those Honors Are Just the Tip of Their Iceberg

“You have to be passionate about something to do it,” Kathy pointed out.

Kathy was honored as the Fond du Lac Artist Association’s Artist of the Year 2007. Chuck’s carving titled “Nearly Forgotten” recently received the Stateline Artists Award (3D) for outstanding work exhibited at the Wisconsin Regional Art Program.

Striving for Intense Detail When Kathy paints a flower, it isn’t just a blossom perched atop a stem. The painting likely includes everything one would see in the flower’s natural habitat: the receptacle, sepal, petals, stamen, anther, pistil, stigma and the basal portion of the pistil where ovules are produced, sometimes including a bit of background. “I don’t think people see how a flower is formed. I like to show details,” Kathy explained. “Some like splashy watercolors. I like to make it look fairly realistic, or abstract to enhance the flower. The story is in the flower itself.”

Flowers aren’t Kathy’s only subjects. A fall 2010 two-person show at the Fond du Lac Public Library’s Langdon Drivers gallery featured a variety of Kathy’s watercolors along with husband Chuck’s wood carvings. Her art encompasses children, grandchildren or even a great-grandchild. Kathy used a photograph she took at the Fond du Lac County Fair for details for a painting of a hen and rooster — an unusual subject for Kathy. She’s also painted bluebirds, sandhill cranes and some abstracts. Paints don’t always produce the exact effect Kathy feels she needs. So she adds bits of rice paper or other items to give depth or texture to a painting.

Lifetime of Development Drawing was a favorite pastime in Kathy’s

Age: Retired

2011

Number of years in the community: Raised in the Campbellsport area. Lived in the Campbellsport area since the age of 6.

Success

Name: Kathleen “Kathy” Wilke

Occupation: Watercolor artist Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I am honored to be nominated. It is personally rewarding to have others feel I am worthy of this.” To what do you owe your measure of success? “The determination to learn and pursue the processes that allow me to achieve a level of work that expresses my creativity in design, color and detail.”

Name: Charles “Chuck” Wilke Age: Retired Occupation: Wood-carver Number of years in the community: Born and raised in the Campbellsport area Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “Very grateful that my work is acceptable and admired.” To what do you owe your measure of success? “I derive great satisfaction in being able to express my creativity in my work. It is rewarding to show my work and to have others enjoy what I carve.”

Chuck and Kathy Wilke enjoy their carving and painting pursuits at their rural Campbellsport farm. They are lifelong residents of the Campbellsport area. The Reporter photos by Patrick Flood

elementary school years when the curriculum included art classes. There was no art program in high school.

is not easy to work with. Either you can do it, or you can’t. Kathy can. She really has mastered her style.”

Chuck began building old Kentucky-type rifles and antique firearms, buying only metal inlays. He refuses to work with kits.

Like many of her generation, Kathy married young. Then, with four small children, she studied at UW-Fond du Lac for two years, followed by two years at UW-Oshkosh, where she graduated with a degree in art education.

Cottonwood Creations

He once attended a decoy-carving class, but classes can be stifling for someone with Chuck’s talent. He didn’t want to carve carbon copies of what an instructor demonstrated.

She worked as a leather goods designer in West Bend, a graphic artist in Fond du Lac, and in graphics in Menomonee Falls.

The wood has miniscule graining, with each ring or grain representing a year of growth. He also carves Tupelo, which is a close-grained wood.

From time to time over the years, Kathy painted, sometimes taking evening painting classes. She began painting in oils, but changed to watercolor.

A self-taught carver, Chuck mirrors Kathy’s passion for art. His enthusiasm is contagious as he shows and explains his work. Everything in his carvings is natural wood, including the lifelike eyes of an eagle that appear to be watching admirers from any angle.

Julie Balson, owner/designer at Galley & Frame Shop in Fond du Lac, pointed out, “Watercolor

Chuck Wilke produces unique carvings from 300-year-old cottonwood rescued from river bottoms.

“I didn’t like that everyone had the same thing. A bird, a flower or a duck,” he said. “I like realism. (I carve) what I see in the wood. I want to bring something out,” he said. As with Kathy’s paintings, Chuck likes to include something of the natural habitat, sometimes including items like moss made from wood. A box turtle carving in progress sat on a bed of Continued on Page 42

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Samples of Chuck Wilke’s carvings are shown here.

stones beside a toadstool — all carved from wood and realistically painted. A penguin mother and chick were a bit of a challenge. The newly hatched chick needs fuzz that would precede tiny feathers. Chuck deftly added bits of sawdust for a natural look, still using only wood products to achieve the natural look he needed. He finds it difficult to throw away scraps of wood that he may eventually find a use for as a fishing pole or sawdust. Scraps of a popular countertop material were carved to form perfect claws for an eagle.

Carving and Burning Chuck meticulously uses a tool and burner to create numerous feathers of various textures to carve the feathers or other realistic details on an eagle or other bird. He said he’s always experimenting, and may spend hours sitting in a chair with the burner, creating tiny details “until my hands don’t work anymore.” A ruddy duck in full plumage required a great deal of time to carve and burn in all the feathers. Chuck’s work isn’t all serious. Kathy said his Wood Spirit and lighthouse carvings are in great demand at shows. His tall, narrow, crooked houses seemingly grow out of the rustic, heavily barked wood. “There’s always something inside (the wood) that wants to come out,” Chuck said. He compares his carving to hatching something out of a block of wood. When Chuck carves a tree house, it may literally be a house atop a tree. Some of Chuck’s carvings remain works-inprogress. One day Chuck decided that a tall, narrow house displayed in their kitchen needed a resident. So he created Mr. Hairy, a tiny, squat creature with extremely long, straggly hair. After a time, Chuck decided that Mr. Hairy appeared lonely, so he created a mate — Mrs. Hairy. Chuck then mused that the couple might just need a Hairy Jr. to complete their family. Chuck said he had no idea if the Hairy family will change or evolve.

Chuck is retired from Maysteel Corporation. He and Kathy maintain a small farm along with their gardens.

For the Fun of It He carves for enjoyment, selling only what he’s willing to part with. When Chuck joins other carvers at the Senior Center, he said, “I never get any work done.” Instead, he spends much of his time helping other carvers and enjoying the camaraderie. Kathy and Chuck’s work is done for pleasure, not as a necessary means of support. “I just feel I am fortunate to have had great doctors and caregivers,” said Kathy, who is a cancer survivor. “I look forward to each day that God gives me and the ability to create art that may give others enjoyment.” She added, “Chuck gets lost in his carving as well. He enjoys sharing his art with others. I am sure (anyone) can tell how excited he is to show what he has made.” Trista Holz, president of Fond du Lac Visual Arts, said of Kathy, ”Her artwork is outstanding. Her watercolors are technologically superior; so eloquent, so beautiful, so graceful. There is just a lot of grace in her work. Chuck’s work is top-notch. I also admire how Kathy handles things. I am so blessed to know her and Chuck.” She added, “They are a phenomenal couple. Their work is so creative and unique, and, as a couple, they have an elegance and grace about them personally and professionally.” Kathy hopes to become a member of the Watercolor Society. Then she can add the prestigious initials beside her name when she signs her work. “Something I want to do next is polar bear cubs on an ice flowage,” Chuck said. Of course, the ice and bears will be realistic except that the ice won’t melt. Special pieces are not sold, and Chuck and Kathy usually have gifts on hand for their five children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Art by Kathy Wilke. The Reporter photos by Patrick Flood

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Success

Continued from Page 41

Success 2011

words for the wise Eden dairy genetics expert is known as a master of maxims

By Joann Schrauth

Dave Rose of Eden strikes a familiar smiling pose during a visit to a neighboring farm. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Special to The Reporter

Here’s a sampling:

• “You learn in two ways — by reading and by associating with people who are smarter than you are.”

Dave Rose-isms The 84-year-old Rose has developed his own maxims over the years. Here are some of his favorites.

• “If you develop a passion for something, you’ll do well in life.”

that breeder successful, that will make me

appreciated.”

His quotes aren’t always verbatim, but he understands the messages, uses them in his life, and gladly shares them with others.

Rose has spent a lifetime in the business of helping others to be successful by improving dairy herds through the use of artificial insemination and implantation of embryos.

Rose is known throughout the dairy industry for his knowledge of bovine genetics and for developing the family’s dairy herd with the Rose E Vue Holstein prefix, one that is known worldwide in the dairy industry.

He began work as an AI technician with East Central Breeders in 1956 after helping install the pipeline that runs through the Eden area. That money covered the cost of his AI schooling.

He has observed, learned, taught and enriched.

“The future belongs to those who see potential and possibilities before they become obvious,” Rose added.

• “If I can deliver bovine genetics that will make Beauty of Genetics

successful.” • “He who walks with the wise will become wise.” • “Seemingly bad news may be an opportunity.” •“You can observe a lot just by watching.” • “You need to enrich others before you can • “The greatest craving people have is to be become rich.”

“There is somebody out there who can do it. You just need to find that person. Find out what serves your needs,” Rose said.

As an AI technician, he set goals. As he surpassed one, he set the bar higher and higher.

It’s the same with selecting semen for his Garden of Eden Genetics customers. Rose is always on the lookout for genetics that will improve a customer’s dairy herd. Garden of Eden Genetics markets semen direct to dairies where farmers do their own herd’s AI work. Rose is training his successor, Robert Schuricht of Elkhart Lake. Without a written contract, Dave took Schuricht under his wing. But that’s the way Rose has done business most of his life — with agreements that are always honored, and promises that are not broken. Continued on Page 44

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EDEN — Dave Rose is known for his sense of humor and his ability to pepper a conversation with a spicy assortment of quotes from almost anyone or from almost anywhere.

2011

Success

Name: Dave Rose Age: 84 Community: Eden Number of years in the community: Lifelong resident, living within two miles of where he grew up Occupation: Former farmer and AI technician (artificial insemination of cattle); now marketing Garden of Eden Genetics Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I’m kind of surprised. I guess I’ve been somewhat successful in a number of things.” To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “I learned so much from so many other people. It’s not I — it’s we. “I’ve learned by being an observer of what’s going on. And, I have had the privilege of serving some of the best people in the world.”

Dave Rose of Eden is well-known for sharing meaningful quotes, old sayings of his own design, and his knowledge of bovine genetics. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Continued from Page 43

“That young guy is a good kid. I’ve been lucky to find him,” Rose said. “It’s important that I make him successful. He’s a fast learner. He has his goals set, and he wants to get in on top of this genetics thing.”

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Learning how to maintain inventory can be tricky, and even more difficult to teach, so that’s a challenge Rose is facing before turning over the business.

Rose said he learned from retail businesses: If something isn’t selling, lower the price to move it out so it can be replaced with something more profitable. He said that applies to dairy bull semen the same as any other product. “This business was my education,” Rose said.

Embryo Transplants He also got involved in the early years of embryo transplants in which a top cow is mated to an equally top bull, then “flushed” for her embryos. This can result in several embryos that are implanted into lesser quality animals, thus improving a dairy herd with top quality offspring.

Top embryos can cost $1,200 to $1,500 each, Rose said. Rose talks fluent bovine pedigree terminology as he flips through Holstein dairy magazines. A picture of a cow or bull prompts a recitation of pedigree, production statistics, offspring and ratings familiar only to those in the cattle business. He knows which animal has offspring in Canada, a European pedigree, or, for that matter, connections to Hollywood. An AI technician/dairy farmer from Eden, Wisconsin at a Hollywood party? Really? Rose explains that film legends often invested in high-priced dairy animals as tax shelters. When a top animal sells for tens of thousands of dollars, Rose said, that animal may be an investment for an individual or group. People like Rose often are involved in putting together those deals. Rose believes the future of dairy herd improvement is through genomics, a method of genetic mapping through the use of DNA analysis. In the past, dairy herds were improved by using bulls with offspring that were rated based on milk production, fitness and conformation traits. The process required

waiting for animals to mature.

Promise of Genomics Like multiple embryo transplants from top animals, genomics can take years off improving a dairy herd. “Never test the depth of the water by jumping in with both feet,” Rose advised. “Genomics is in its infancy, but there’s something out there.” When Rose mentions slowing down, that doesn’t mean he’s even remotely considering retirement. “I’m an avid reader. I spend at least two hours a day reading. I highlight things. I ask people, ‘What do you see? What’s coming?’ Then I know where to use that information.” Rose finds there is more reading material than he can cram into a couple hours a day, so he may need to devote more time to learning. Indeed, the kitchen table at the Roses has neat piles of dairy magazines along with a couple dictionaries. Magazines are open to photos and articles about prized bulls and cows. Sentences and paragraphs are highlighted. It’s common to see Rose’s name in print, including in the prestigious Holstein International.

By Joann Schrauth | Special to The Reporter

He likes to say the school colors were black and blue.

Gary Boyke, left, of Vir-Clar Farm east of Fond du Lac discusses a point with old family friend Dave Rose during Fall Fest at Vir-Clar Farm. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

Beneficial Deals Throughout his career, Rose put deals together. “You have to structure things so all benefit,” Rose pointed out. “Lopsided deals don’t last. Take advantage of someone, and you’ll only have one deal. You can’t do that if you want to stay in business.” He tells about a sale cow that he and the late Clarence Boyke were looking at. “Clarence and I both liked that cow. But why bid one against the other? So I said, ‘You buy her if you want, and if she has a heifer calf, I’ll buy it,” Rose said. Boyke bought the animal. It gave birth to a heifer calf, and Rose bought it. The Boyke-Rose relationship thrived. Today, Rose continues his work with the third generation of the Boyke family. Bill Hageman, well known in dairy circles, has known and worked with Rose for 30 years or more. Hageman noted Rose’s love for the industry. He said Rose knows and retains information like pedigrees, making it possible for him to select sires to double an offspring’s strengths.

Salt of the Earth When Rose attends the annual Royal Winter Fair in Canada, Hageman said, “He travels and sees them (the animals) in the flesh. That’s so much better than looking at them on paper. He’s good at what he does, and then he shares that (knowledge) with people. It benefits him financially, and benefits others.” “David has probably benefited hundreds of people in that way,” Hageman said. Rose said of his years in the dairy industry, “I’ve just had a great time working with my customers. I was dealing with the salt of the earth. Really good, super people.” He concluded, “Once I get into something, I’m so fascinated, it’s almost an obsession. “I have a grand time just being alive, I believe in tomorrow.”

When not in school, the boys would climb to the very top of a young tree, bending a supple upper branch to the ground. One by one, the boys would let go, leaving the last boy clinging to the tree branch and catapulting into the air. “If he had let go, we possibly could have been the first to put a man on the moon. When that tree snapped back, he could have been in orbit,” Rose recalled with a chuckle. “It took us 15 minutes to walk to school, and one hour to walk home,” Rose recalled. “We had forts in the woods and played war games.”

Have Fun “If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing things right. We must have been doing it right, ‘cause we sure had a lot of fun,” he said. He likes to tell people Eden is the center of the universe, and he’s the Rose from the Garden of Eden. He warns customers from outside the area to be careful about trying to drive through Eden, lest they get caught in the rush hour traffic. “Rush hour is when a Flood Oil Company truck and the postman leave town at the same time,” Rose jokes. He tells a customer that his goal is to “stay vertical and above ground, and, by golly, so far, it’s been working.” He and his wife, Jeanette, have raised six children — Gloria, Jim, Gary, Steve, Dan and Dale. They’ve also raised two of their 16 grandchildren. They have four great-grandchildren.

What a Honeymoon! Dave likes to say that he and Jeanette are embarking on the 63rd year of their honeymoon. The couple is often

At age 84, Rose muses that he has now worked his way through adolescence. He said he has enjoyed his life’s work so much, it’s almost embarrassing to be paid. A longtime Chicago Cubs fan, Rose said, “I always predict, ‘This is the year.’ Then it’s ‘wait til next year.’ But when you have to say that in April or July, that’s not good. But any team can have a bad century.” Jerry Ninnemann, former publisher of the Campbellsport News, enjoys “ribbing” Rose for his Cubs loyalty. But on a serious note, Ninnemann notes, “He’s a very smart man, and in a very clever way.”

Old Town Hall Rose is a founding member and president of the Friends of the Old Town Hall. When Eden’s community center was built, the old town hall was no longer needed. Rose was part of a small group that set out to save the building. Memorabilia has been added, and students from Eden Elementary School walk across the street for a “field day without busing” as Carol Murphy put it. Rose and others annually coordinate a program with the school. They may focus on education in a one-room school, life as it was lived before today’s technology, or a topic related to something the class is studying. Murphy said, “I always enjoy listening to an anecdote of Dave’s,” Murphy said. “His memory is fantastic, and he knows, worked with or is related to everyone.” Rose found the veterans program to be especially poignant. “We had people like (the late) Butch Rosenbaum who was on Iwo Jima, veterans from Korea and so on,” he recalled. Rose’s voice faltered as he mentioned a veteran, noting, “Eddy had a terrible time.” After a brief pause, he said, “War is a terrible thing — a form of insanity, and we haven’t figured a way out of it.”

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While many drop the name of their alma mater, Rose points out that he graduated from Jackson College. For the unfamiliar, that would be the little one-room grade school he attended near Eden.

the last to leave the dance floor at wedding dances when long-married couples are honored.

2011

EDEN — Dave Rose’s sense of humor is legendary.

Success

For More Than 80 Years, Humor Has Guided Dave Rose

2011

Success

east meets west at home in heartland

Ketterhagen ‘kids’ return to roots to help keep father’s dream alive By Dorothy Bliskey Special to The Reporter

Two Fond du Lac natives — Luke Ketterhagen, now of Los Angeles, and his sister Anna (Ketterhagen) Petrie, a New York City resident — have made great strides in their respective fields of yoga and opera. The siblings, whose parents Michael and Mary Ketterhagen live in Fond du Lac, return often to their hometown, but it’s not just to visit family. It’s about returning home to give back to their community. Their father, who is a theology professor at Marian University, was instrumental in starting the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing 12 years ago. It’s a non-profit center at 74 S. Main St. that offers healthy living classes with programs like yoga, tai chi and meditation as well as services such as acupuncture, aromatherapy and nutrition counseling. While the experts delivering services at the center are reimbursed, Ketterhagen as the center’s founder is not. He reaches out voluntarily to help others by teaching yoga and meditation classes and overseeing the center’s smooth operation.

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His children, Luke and Anna, are helping to keep their father’s dream of creating a healthier lifestyle alive for area residents by giving of their time and talents. The Center is the magnet that draws them back.

Success

Name: Luke Ketterhagen Age: 36 Occupation: Yoga teacher

Number of years in the community: 3 Formerly of Fond du Lac

2011

Current community: Los Angeles, Calif.

Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “I feel honored because Fond du Lac played such an important part in shaping my life. “Yoga has helped me create a sustainable, healthy lifestyle for me and my family. To be recognized in Fond du Lac for what I love to do is a great honor.” To what do you owe your measure of success? “To my Mom and Dad for raising such well-rounded kids and for being a great example of how to be gracious, kind and hardworking.”

Luke: giving the gift of yoga Luke Ketterhagen of Los Angeles, formerly of Fond du Lac, demonstrates a half-moon yoga technique. He has modeled for best-selling yoga books. submitted photo

You Could Say: Like Father Like Son

in the direction of the Himalayan Institute on the advisement of his father who had also received yoga training there.

permanent staff. He authored the Asana Basics column for Yoga International magazine from December 2003 to December 2004.

Michael Ketterhagen’s son Luke, whose yoga teaching credentials are impressive, jets to Fond du Lac from his Los Angeles home to teach yoga at the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing.

“I had spent the better part of my high school and college years prepping for medical school and life as a physician,” Luke said. “When I realized I wasn’t going to be a doctor I had to do some reflection. That reflection took me to the Himalayan Institute where I took my first yoga class and started to piece my life back together.”

Modeling Yoga Positions

Luke returns to his hometown and the Center for Spirituality and Healing numerous times to teach various yoga classes, including the teaching training. He brings with him the knowledge he learned in the field of yoga at the world-renowned Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pa., a 400acre complex in the Pocono Mountains where he studied yoga, lived and taught for seven years. “The Himalayan Institute has been called ‘The Harvard of Yoga.’” Luke said, noting he sought solace and further education there after graduating magna cum laude from Marquette University with a degree in biomedical science in 1998.

Seeking Solace, Direction The disappointment of not being accepted into medical school, despite excellent grades, sent him

“I encouraged Luke to go to the Himalayan Institute in order to rest and learn about himself,” said Michael, who has been teaching yoga for about 30 years. “The practice of yoga helps one center and find out what one’s real purpose is in life.” Luke began to realize how integrative yoga was — an endeavor that challenged his intellect, physical talent and emotional balance. “I also realized it could possibly be that same avenue to help people — people I thought I would only get to help by becoming a doctor,” Luke said. Although yoga was not initially part of Luke’s career plans, health and wellness were. “I was always interested in helping people live healthier and happier lives,” he said. “But thought I would do it as a physician.” After receiving his yoga teacher certification from the Himalayan Institute, Luke joined its

“The modeling I did demonstrated simple postures requiring precise alignment, advanced postures and practices demonstrating the power and strength yoga can bring,” Luke said. Former owner and director of Uptown Yoga in Dallas, Texas, Luke also served as director of programming and the principal teacher at East West Yoga in Manhattan. Luke has his own business, Stretch for Strength, in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife, Kourtney, and their two children. Through his business he works full-time teaching yoga classes, conducting workshops and teacher training programs in Southern California and around the United States. His most notable accomplishment is the inclusion into several teacher training programs nationally, including the prestigious Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Various Yoga Classes While at the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality Continued on Page 48

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While here, Luke’s presence as one of the top yoga instructors in the U.S. attracts students from all over the state — students he is instructing to become yoga teachers. He feels it’s the least he can do to give back to the community and family who gave him so much.

Lean, fit and standing 6-feet, 4-inches tall, Luke modeled yoga positions in numerous editions of the international magazine, as well as in the bestselling book, “Yoga: Mastering the Basics.”

2011

Success

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and Healing, Luke teaches classes such as Yoga for Strength and Stamina, Yoga for Health and Wholeness, and Yoga for Detox. The center’s website, www.fcsh.org keeps the public informed.

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Luke’s own website, www.lukeketterhagen.com, is also a source of information on the work he does through his business. More students are drawn to the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing when Luke returns home to teach. “They come from a wider region such as Madison, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha,” Michael Ketterhagen said. “He serves many people while here. I am very proud of him. I now consider him my own yoga teacher since he has had much more time to pursue yoga than I have. He is truly a blessing to me and Mary and to all who learn from him — as are all five of our children.”

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“Yoga helps foster strength, flexibility and relaxation in the athlete,” Luke said, noting his father used yoga techniques when he coached women’s softball at Pius XI High School in Milwaukee 30 years ago. “I have such an affinity for Fond du Lac, the simple lifestyle of Wisconsin, and the good people of the Midwest,” Luke said. “I have learned so much that has helped me, and I’d like to share those things with the people who are close to my heart.”

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“We’re just beginning to use yoga, and I think it will benefit us tremendously, said Jason Bartelt, head baseball coach at Marian University. “Luke went over a routine with us that was baseball specific, to make our team more prepared for the upcoming season. He impressed me with his understanding of our team and their needs. He also offered to return, assist our guys, and give them a refresher course later on in the season.”

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In addition to helping out at the Center, Luke also gives back locally to places like Marian University, where he recently taught yoga practices to the school’s baseball team.

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Age: 29 Occupation: Opera singer

Number of years in the community: 5 Formerly of Fond du Lac

2011

Current community: New York, N.Y.

Success

Name: Anna Petrie

Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “It is an honor to be nominated for the Success section, and I feel a double honor to be featured with my brother, whom I admire so much in his own success and journey.” To what do you owe your measure of success? To my parents, who allowed me the space to pursue my desire to sing and for instilling in me the values of hard work, perseverance and the knowledge that you can love what you do.”

Anna: giving the gift of opera Anna (Ketterhagen) Petrie, formerly of Fond du Lac and now of New York City, performs at the Windhover Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac in 2009. submitted photo

Petrie, a graduate of St. Mary’s Springs High School, went on to earn a degree in music from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa — then settled into New York City to refine her musical skills. Although she arrived in New York with the idea of getting into musical theater, opera began to draw her in. “Opera opened a world of music that challenged me and called me to use all of myself in the execution of this amazing art,” she said. “The more I learned about opera, my voice and technique, the more I wanted to learn. No matter how far my career goes or what opera houses I sing in, the learning is continuous.” As an emerging young artist in the New York opera world, Petrie takes every opportunity to hone her skills as a performer. She is also passionate about her hometown, and coming back to give back.

Recitals in Her Hometown Three times in the past two years she has presented recitals that showcased her operatic style. Two were at the Windhover Center for the Arts as fundraisers for the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing in downtown Fond du Lac

— a place near and dear to her heart. With its healthy living classes and workshops, the Center for Spirituality is something she believes strongly in keeping alive for area residents. An outdoor audience was treated to her singing expertise this summer when she pulled herself away from the opera stage in the Big Apple to appear with the Fond du Lac Symphonic Band at Buttermilk Creek Park. Ray Wifler, director of the Fond du Lac Symphonic Band and retired Marian University music professor, heard Anna sing in December at the Windhover. “She had a pretty voice, but singing in a recital hall is very different from singing opera in front of thousands in a large opera house,” Wifler said. “So, when I invited her to perform with us for our ‘Marches and Pretty Songs’ concert, I didn’t know quite what to expect.” “We only had one rehearsal before the concert, and I was pleasantly surprised at her operatic voice. Anna has a very strong and dramatic voice. That, along with the ability to act, is important to opera,” Wifler said, noting she sang two opera arias (songs). “It was an absolute joy to perform with the Fond du Lac Symphonic Band this August,” Anna said from her New York home. It was great to be on stage seeing the faces of Fond du Lac. I spent many years watching from their seats, so it was a

joy to experience the concert from the other side this time.”

Endless Auditions In New York City, auditions are endless for Anna as she looks toward a full-time career in opera. “My performing opportunities continue to grow, which allows me to transition more and more out of a traditional 40-hour-a-week day-job,” she said, adding that her goal is to make a living with her musical talent so a job outside the realm of music isn’t necessary. Within the last year, she performed with the New York-based Amore Opera as the cover role of Mercedes from “Carmen” by Bizet as well as with the New York Opera Forum with which she performed the role of Meg Page from “Falstaff” by Verdi. This past summer she was with the New Yorkbased Delaware Valley Opera as a member of their Professional Artist Development Program, performing the role of Olga in the production of “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky. “The experience was pretty incredible,” Anna said. “It was my first Russian opera and truly challenged me. It was an added benefit to sing music of Tchaikovsky, a composer I adore.”

Special Performances Her Fond du Lac performances at the Windhover Continued on Page 50

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A passion for singing opera has Fond du Lac native Anna (Ketterhagen) Petrie performing on opera stages in New York City where she lives with her husband Phil — as well as in Fond du Lac, where she returns to give her gift of voice.

Success

2011

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Anna (Ketterhagen) Petrie, left, performs an opera selection in New York as Hansel in Opera Breve’s production of “Hansel & Gretel.” With her at right is Kat Ross. Photo courtesy of Anna Kirkland Continued from Page 49

the past two years have been incredible as well. “Those were particularly important to me,” Anna said. “They were fundraisers for the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing, which offers so many wonderful programs to the community. The recital was done with the hopes that the Center will continue to flourish and grow. In addition, it allowed the Fond du Lac community to experience some classical music.” “Anna’s presence gives me courage to continue working hard for the health, happiness and growth of the people of Fond du Lac,” said her father Michael Ketterhagen, founder of the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing. “The Center can truly help people experience joy and become healthy again— through yoga, meditation, tai chi, qi gong, vegetarian cooking, Healing Touch, aromatherapy, reflexology and more. Without Anna’s encouragement and my son Luke’s yoga teaching, the Center would have closed long ago.”

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“The Ketterhagens are one of the most caring and giving families you would ever meet,” said Janelle Anderson, who is on the board for the FCSH and attends classes there. “Michael’s wife Mary is involved with Hospice, and Michael almost single-handedly set the mission and vision for FCSH and keeps it alive. The Center is a wonderful untapped resource that every person in the community could benefit from. “Luke and Anna are both very successful in big careers in large cities, yet they remember their roots and come back to support the Center by sharing their talents. They are products of their parents who set an example of sharing their time and talents to the broader community,” Anderson said. “They are showing us a better way to live.”

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2011

Play

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Success

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“Mu sic i la sts a

2011

Success

blazing trails City of FdL’s lone female firefighter is a woman of many talents

Name: Laura Ketelhut Age: 32 Occupation: Firefighter/Paramedic Home community: Originally of North Fond du Lac, now of Mount Calvary Number of years in Mount Calvary: 4 Your reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “My initial reaction was, ‘Why me?’ I felt very humbled to be thought of as successful. I believe success is measured by happiness, and I couldn’t be happier.” To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “I have a great support system of family and friends that encourage me to reach my goals.”

By Harley Buchholz

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Special to The Reporter

Where to begin describing the life of a wife and mother, career woman, teacher on the side, competitive cook and triathlete? Laura Ketelhut will start with her family. She and her husband, Scott, two Fond du Lac firefighters living in an attractive newer home just outside Mount Calvary, have two children, Espen, 3, and Evia, 1, who celebrated her first birthday earlier this month. “Being a mom is the most satisfying,” Laura said. Then she turns to food: “Cooking is the most relaxing for me,” she said. “It’s a stress reliever.”

Fond du Lac firefighter/paramedic Laura Ketelhut displays her turnout gear at the Fourth Street and National Avenue station. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood

She does the family cooking except the times when Scott mans the outdoor grill. And even then Laura will prepare the meat before grilling. She also does a lot of cooking for the crew of firefighters/emergency medical technicians at Fire Station 2, Fourth Street and National Avenue.

Only Female Firefighter She’s the only female firefighter/EMT in the department so cooking duties might be considered logical. Not so, she pointed out. “We share at the station. I enjoy it so I do it the most,” she said. Then there is her athleticism. “Working out and competing keeps me wanting to keep going,” she said. “My job needs me to be in shape. Full firefighter gear weighs about 70 pounds. “I work at the Y too,” she continued. “I teach there (two classes, body pump and spin). That motivates me to stay fit and keep active.” After Evia’s birth last fall, Laura opted to enter a half ironman competition. Similar to the male ironman contests, the female version consists of

a 1¼-mile swim, 56-mile bike race and 13.1-mile run. “I trained all winter,” she said. She had entered a half marathon earlier and she went on to more of those, “a bunch of triathlons” and the Race the Lake bike run in late summer. A duathlon and another bike race rounded out her summer.

Fitness is Hobby “It’s kind of my hobby,” she said. A couple of trophies and several medallions mark her participation. She finished second in her age group in Race the Lake, 17th overall. She also placed second in a triathlon. “It was interesting from spring and my first half marathon to the last to see how well I progressed,” she said. “I knocked 17 minutes off my time.” She watches the Internet for events to enter. A 1997 graduate of Horace Mann High School in North Fond du Lac, Laura received her twoyear fire science degree from Fox Valley Technical College and went on to get a paramedic degree from Gateway Technical College. She was hired by the Fire Department in 2003. As the only female firefighter, “At first I thought I

Success 2011

had a lot to prove,” she acknowledged. Now, a department veteran, “I don’t even think about it.”

She Enjoys Cooking Her willingness to cook probably helps — along with a quick and bright smile, a firm grip and a self-assured, easygoing manner. “I don’t feel I get treated any differently,” she noted. “I’m like one of the guys. It’s a comfortable work environment. The guys have always been supportive and helpful.” She draws both fire and ambulance duty. “The fire aspect is always more challenging,” she said. “You get the adrenaline rush of the engine.” Firefighters/EMTs “train every day whether on the medical side or doing drills, things like that,” she said. “At this time of year we’re doing school runs — fire prevention and safety.” The crew at the station, she said, favors her chicken cream pasta dish while husband Scott likes her chicken asparagus panini. Laura discovered that she loved to cook in her early 20s when she was away from home and on her own. “I had to eat and my mother wasn’t going to follow me around,” she laughed. “I made simple things, cheap things. I started watching the Food Channel and I started realizing I really enjoyed cooking. I’d watch (a meal preparation) on TV and then go and make my own version. Then, being able to do that I started writing my own recipes and submitted them (in contests).”

Award-Winning Cook In 2007, her recipe for meatball lasagna earned her a fourday trip to Hollywood for a Food Network competition. That was followed in 2009 by three days in New York for a

firefighter Cook and Ladder competition with her chipotle

Beside the obvious facts, said Fond du Lac Fire Chief Peter O’Leary, “you wouldn’t know we have a female” firefighter in Laura Ketelhut. “It’s her job to keep up with the guys,” he pointed out.

mac and cheese recipe. She placed second and won $5,000 in that contest.

O’Leary commented that “she handles herself well and works well with the crew. She gets no special treatment and we expect her to pull her own weight.”

Last year she returned to New York for an appearance on “Live with Regis and Kelly” in the show’s 11-week Firehouse cookoff. She prepared a boursin burger — cheese-stuffed hamburger. She’s also appeared twice on Channel 11’s “Living with Amy” food show.

Additionally, he said, “Sometimes it’s advantageous” in certain situations to have a female on the crew.

“I still play around with recipes to submit,” Laura said. “Being able to do stuff like that is really what drives me and it’s fun.” One thing, though: “I don’t bake. I love to cook, hate baking. I don’t like to measure. I just like to throw things together.”

Complementary Schedules With their varying fire department schedules, Laura and Scott are able to alternate their work days and spend 10 full days together each month. During the other 20 days, one of them is with the children. “We have a different schedule than most,” Laura acknowledged, “but it works for us. We don’t need day care. We have whole days together (Their work days are a full 24 hours long) and we make the most of our days together.”

The chief noted that “the guys like it” that she’s a firehouse chef and praised her ability to “juggle it all together,” referring to her as a wife and mother, career woman, competitive cook and athlete. With her husband, Scott, a department engineer at Station 3, O’Leary said, “they both wear the uniform well for the city.” top right: Firefighter/paramedic Laura Ketelhut, the only woman on the Fond du Lac Fire Department, responds to an accident scene at Johnson and Main Streets. The Reporter photo by Patrick Flood bottom right: Laura Ketelhut, left, and a friend, Melanie Steinbarth, pose at a Half Iron Man event in which they competed. submitted photo

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Laura Ketelhut, left, a member of the Fond du Lac Fire Department and an award-winning cook, participates in the Coast to Coast Fire House Cook-Off with Regis Philbin of the “Regis and Kelly Show” in New York. At right is singer-dancer Bernadette Peters. submitted photo

A Wife and Mother, Career Woman, Competitive Cook and Athlete

2011

By Joann Schrauth

Special to The Reporter

Success

CAMPBELLSPORT — After Mike Kurtz’s daughter, Andrea, was married, her dad gave her a very special gift — a rosary and two bracelets, handmade from the roses she carried in her wedding bouquet. Kurtz, former administrator at St. Joseph Convent in Campbellsport, handed the flowers over to a nun at the Convent, Sister Germaine Werth, to work her magic. Sister Germaine makes several hundred rosaries and bracelets a year from many thousands of rose petals delivered to the convent. Often, like Andrea’s rosary and bracelets, the flower petals are from joyous occasions such as a bridal bouquet. Or they may be a remembrance from a family member’s funeral. But, like so many things, the recession has hit the rose petal rosary business. The cost for sterling silver rosaries was $50 and up, so Sister Germaine now uses silver-plated rosary wires, religious metals and crucifixes. That brought the cost down to $40 per five-decade rosary. Chaplets, or single decade rosaries, and bracelets are $10 each.

87 Years Young Sister Germaine is a young 87 years old. Like many girls of generations past, she joined the convent right out of eighth grade. She has spent 72 years serving God as a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis, the last 12 making rose petals into rosaries at St. Joseph Convent. Making rosary beads from rose petals is an art form that dates back to Europe, and is usually credited to Germany, often in convents and monasteries.

holy rose-aries Name: Sister Germaine Werth Age: 87 Number of years in the community of School Sisters of St. Francis: 70

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Occupation: House sister

Residence: St. Joseph Convent, Campbellsport Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “It might help the community.” To what or to whom do you owe your measure of success? “The Lord’s blessing.”

Campbellsport nun creates special prayer beads, bracelets from flowers

A website states that in 1520, Pope Leo the Tenth apparently gave official sanction for the Catholic Church to use rose petal beads or rosaries. Sister Germaine doesn’t allow herself to be concerned about the centuries behind her. She simply deals with the task at hand. After a large corrugated box was recently delivered to the nun’s rosary room, she selected one huge red rose after another from the box, deftly removing the petals. Any less-than-perfect petals were tossed into the discard box with the sepals, rose hips and short stems. Nothing is wasted, and the discards are recycled into the convent garden. Sister Germaine noted that those were among the most beautiful roses she had ever seen. The flowers came from a funeral. The Iowa family that sent them enclosed an order for 10 rosaries.

Funeral Keepsakes Rosaries made from funeral roses are extremely popular, said convent administrative assistant Bernadette Fleishmann. “It’s heartwarming to have that keepsake from a loved one’s funeral,” she noted. Roses come to Sister Germaine from every state in the nation and even throughout the world, often a result of the website for the School Sisters of St. Francis Motherhouse. The rose petals quickly covered several aluminum trays measuring 15 by 24 inches. They were then ready to spend a few hours in the kitchen ovens, where 250-degree temperatures are maintained when the ovens aren’t being used for cooking and baking. Sister Germaine Werth, a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Campbellsport, sorts rose petals as she prepares to make rosary beads. Joann Schrauth photo

She rolls the beads in the palms of her hands, then threads the beads onto vertical wires to dry. When they are properly dried, Sister Germaine uses a special pliers to thread wires through the beads, and twist them to form rosaries and bracelets. She adds a religious medal and crucifix to complete each rosary.

Special Rosary Room Sister Germaine works in the rosary room in an area of the convent that was traditionally used for making communion hosts for Masses. When the convent no longer needed the rooms for that purpose, the sisters found other uses. The hours she works depends on when she has rose petals, rose petal paste and orders to finish. “I work when the work’s there. That’s a wise thing to do,” Sister Germaine pointed out. The quiet nun doesn’t usually talk about the 34 years she spent working with Native Americans and squatters in Montana, the meticulous work she now does, and the beautiful rosaries and bracelets that result from her work.

In the spring of 1874, they settled in Campbellsport. They saw their mission as educating the children of German immigrants. The convent was built, and shortly after, a school building. Today the convent provides a home for the retired School Sisters of St. Francis. All volunteer their talents and services in various ways. Rosaries made from rose petals is one of these projects. The process was brought from Germany by the early Sisters of the community. Dried rose petals, often from

wedding or funeral bouquets, are used to make craft beads for handmade rosaries and bracelets. The process takes several days. The amount of rose petals needed depends on the size and quality of the roses. All beads turn black regardless of the original color.

It was Sister Margaret’s nephew who made the tool to form 60 equal-sized beads from the rose petal paste. Sister Germaine said Sister Margaret “had a lot of patience with me.” But after a brief pause, Sister Germaine quietly admitted, “She said I was a fast learner.” People sometimes ask how many rosaries can be made from one rose. Sister Germaine simply stated, “You can’t work with just one rose.” Sister Antoinette Schreiber works with Sister Germaine, taking orders, shipping the rosaries and bracelets, or calling those nearby to pick up their orders.

Supporting Mission Work Income from rosaries goes to help support the order’s mission work. Extra rosaries and bracelets also are sold in the craft and gift shop at the Campbellsport convent along with a variety of other hand-made items. The popular rosaries are usually made on order, so there isn’t always a ready supply for walk-in customers. Kurtz said Sister Germaine’s work is unique. “We’re proud we still have people like her doing things like this that they like to do,” Kurtz said. “There aren’t too many things in society that have been around hundreds of years. It’s meaningful with all the changes in society and the (Catholic) church. It was meaningful then, and it’s meaningful now.”

above: Sister Germaine displays rosaries and bracelets that she made by hand from rose petals. The rosaries and bracelets often become keepsakes from weddings and funerals. Joann Schrauth photo

Proceeds from the sale of the rosaries and bracelets are used to help support the various missions and charities. The rosaries and bracelets, as well as various craft items made by the Sisters, are available in the convent’s gift and craft shop.

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CAMPBELLSPORT — Three religious women — Sisters Alexia Hoell, Alfons Schmid and Clara Seiter — immigrated from Schwarczh, Germany in 1873.

Sister Germaine often wears pendants made for her by the Native Americans she worked with, former administrator Mike Kurtz said.

“When I left the mission, Sister Margaret needed a helper. I didn’t know her until I came here (Campbellsport), but she was my second cousin,” Sister Germaine said. “She’s the one who taught me. She died in her early 90s, and worked almost up until she died.”

2011

Sister Germaine spreads the paste onto a cast metal rectangular form. She then taps the form against a larger piece of cast iron, and 60 tiny beads pop out. That gives her enough beads for a complete rosary of five decades (50 beads), plus the five beads that separate the decades, and the five beads near the crucifix.

When Sister Germaine arrived at the convent in Campbellsport, she started working with Sister Margaret who had been making the rosaries from rose petals.

Success

Sister Germaine pointed out that the rose petals would quickly dry enough for the next step. She grinds the dried petals and mixes them into a paste that is left to ferment. She usually adds a small amount of sugar to move the fermentation process along.

Order forms, prices and more information are available at www. sjconvent.org The above information was taken from a School Sisters of St. Francis brochure. WI-5001393024

2011

Success

family affair Vir-Clar Farm has prospered tremendously under decades-long care of Boyke clan

Katie Boyke Grinstead of Vir-Clar Farm east of Fond du Lac greets visitors at the annual Fall Fest on the farm. Gloria Hafemeister photo

By Gloria Hafemeister Special to The Reporter

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TOWN OF EMPIRE — The dairy industry has experienced enormous changes during the last few decades, providing challenges — as well as opportunities — for dairy producers like the Boyke family of Fond du Lac.

Vir-Clar Farm carries the name of Gary’s parents, Clarence and Virginia Boyke, who were milking 28 registered Holsteins in 1972 when he returned from college to join his parents in the business. Gary married Rose in 1976 and the two couples continued milking 50 to 60 cows in a tie-stall barn, developing one of the top genetic herds in the state and nation. As time went on, however, the Boykes began to look to the future. It was tough to support two families on 50 or 60 cows and Gary’s knees were beginning to suffer from bending under each cow twice a day for milking. The family started on the expansion road in 1995

and today milk 1,250 Holstein cows at Vir-Clar Farm.

checks, ultrasounds and herd health. He lives in the original farmhouse.

Returning Home

The Boyke family has long understood the importance of communicating with their neighbors about what is happening on the farm. They have hosted numerous tours over the years to highlight their efforts to protect the environment while producing healthy animals and top quality milk.

The size of the farm has made it possible for two of their four grown children to return home to join their family in the business. Katie was the first to return home to the farm after earning a degree in agricultural journalism at UW-Madison and then working for Vita Plus for five years. She took over the farm’s calf-raising program and also helps her mother with farm record keeping. She and her husband, Grant Grinstead, who works for Vita Plus as a swine sales manager, live near the farm with their two children. J.R. returned to the business in November 2009 and now manages the herd, paying close attention to reproduction, including breeding, pregnancy

As a young mother, Katie also understood that busy moms don’t always get a chance to hear the facts about dairy products. They are bombarded with information on the Internet and elsewhere and it’s difficult for them to sort through it all. Special interest groups are spreading false stories about animal care on modern dairy farms, according to the Boykes. They point out that those concerned about obesity among young people put the blame on nutritious foods like chocolate milk instead of other snack foods and beverages that are full of sugar and provide no nutrition.

Facts about dairy, posted on signs around Vir-Clar Farm:

2011

• Every cow gets six to eight weeks of vacation time a year, resting in a special area known as the dry cow barn, where they get special care and feed.

Success

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

• Cows that are ready to have a calf spend some time in a sand-bedded comfortable, clean pen. • Five calves are born a day on VirClar Farm.

Under Katie’s leadership, the family decided to host a fall festival on the farm, providing farm tours, entertainment, food and pumpkins. After hosting a successful event last year, they repeated it this year. “We charged admission because we wanted to reach those who were really interested in seeing the farm,” she said. “We have about 1,000 visitors at an event like this and if it had been free, we might have had 4,000 and that would be a little difficult to manage the tours.” She added, “We don’t do it for the money, though. That’s why the proceeds from the admission are donated to The Whisper Hill Clydesdales Special Needs Foundation. Profits from the food stand went to Faith of a Child Day Care Center.” Whisper Hill is a non-profit organization committed to providing unique and therapeutic experiences to people with physical, mental, social, emotional or behavioral disabilities through farm animal assisted therapy, riding and driving therapy, and wagon rides with Clydesdale Draft Horses. Tim Wiskow of Whisper Hill provided horse-drawn wagon rides for visitors as did Grant Grinstead, whose hobby is raising draft horses.

Milking Parlor As they arrived, visitors were able to watch the cows being milked in a double-20 parlor that allows 20 cows to enter each side. Then they toured the farm on tractor-pulled hay wagons to see where the cows rest and eat, the calf-care operation and how electricity is produced at Vir-Clar. From the time family members began their expansion, they worked on ways to handle manure in an environmentally friendly way. They became interested in methane digesters as a means of reducing odor and the phosphorus load on the land. After a week of touring Germany looking at farm digesters, Gary was sold on the idea. In 2003 the

Boykes applied for and were awarded a grant to purchase and install a digester that was built the next year. It produces enough electrical power to run 320 homes. It provides energy, produces bedding and has eliminated 70 percent of the odor. They continue to work on ways to purify the manure and remove water so when the liquid that remains after the solids are separated there is even less chance of run-off. They are especially concerned about these issues since their farm is located near Lake de Neveu, and dozens of homes surround the lake.

Seeing Farm Operation Katie says the focus of Fall Fest was a petting zoo, pony rides, pumpkins and food, but she hoped that while the families were there they would take the opportunity to see the farm as well. Alice in Dairyland Katie Wirkus greeted the visitors on the first day of the two-day event. Katie uses Facebook to let folks know what’s happening on the farm each day and to spread the word about the fall festival. “We also advertised the event at day care centers and places where we could reach young mothers,” Katie pointed out. “We want these mothers to see where their milk and cheese comes from.” Even those who didn’t take the formal tours learned, just from the appearance of the farm, that cow comfort is the goal of this progressive dairy family, and milk quality and cleanliness is on the top of the list of goals in the milking parlor.

• Cows have four compartment stomachs. • Cows spend six hours a day eating and eight hours a day ruminating and chewing their cud. • It takes 3,000 cows to make baseballs for the entire season. The average life of a baseball is seven pitches. • Vir-Clar generates $21 million a year in economic activity for the local community. • 36 million pounds of milk is shipped from Vir-Clar Farm every year, which is 72 million 8-ounce glasses of milk. • Vir-Clar Farm ships 100,000 pounds of milk a day, enough milk to supply every person in the city of Fond du Lac with four glasses of milk a day. • Milk from Vir-Clar Farm goes to Grande Cheese. The farm provides enough milk for 2.9 million pounds of cheese, enough to feed 93,550 people an average of 31 pounds of cheese each year.

Thank You! FOR VOTING US “2011 READERS’ CHOICE” FOR

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left: Ed Guterman, left, of Brownsville, listens as Amy Stark of Green Lake conducts a tour of the milking parlor at Vir-Clar Farm owned by Gary and Rose Boyke east of Fond du Lac. The tour was part of the second annual Vir-Clar Farm Fall Festival. The Reporter photo by Aileen Andrews | right: Tim Wiskow of Whisper Hill Clydesdales Special Needs Foundation provides wagon rides at Fall Fest. Part of the proceeds from the event goes to the Whisper Hill Foundation. Gloria Hafemeister photo

2011

Success

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